


Parental Rights

by Live



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adoption, Arguing, Complicated Relationships, Creeper Hybrid Sam | Awesamdude, Family Drama, Family Feels, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Is That A Surprise With Tommyinnit?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Parent Sam | Awesamdude, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Sam | Awesamdude, Swearing, Unreliable Narrator, Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:49:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29535696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Live/pseuds/Live
Summary: Sam wants to be there for Tommy. Wants to be his dad. Wants to be the one Tommy comes to when he's in trouble or excited over something. He'd happily legally adopt Tommy, but well... Tommy's actual father is in the way of that. Sam thought with how distanced Phil was with his son it would be easy to persuade him to give his parental rights over to Sam. But well... Tommy's stubbornness had to come from somewhere, right?
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit, Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 204
Kudos: 1341





	1. To Adopt or not to Adopt

The creeper hybrid doesn't even flinch as Techno aims an explosive arrow directly between his eyes. It's frustrating that the man isn't intimidated by him (Techno is an intimidating man). It's equally frustrating that he doesn't know if he's using the right kind of weapon (would someone with creeper biology explode upon death?). What's the most frustrating thing is he can't figure out _how the man found them_. It's not exactly that they're _hiding_ (they're hiding), but they were only inviting selected individuals to the Syndicate. Techno couldn't think of a reason to invite Sam to his Syndicate.

"Can I interest you in a bit of anarchy today, Sam?" Techno says, voice deceptively light. "If not, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. That's all we deal with out here after all." 

The man doesn't look phased. 

(Techno admittedly doesn't know what part of the man's face to look at to check if he is phased. Most of his expression covered by a mask and goggles and the parts that are viewable looking distinctly unhuman. But his general aura reads as a person completely unimpressed.)

"Philza is here, right?" Sam questions. "I want to talk to him."

It's the worst question to ask Techno. Techno who’s overprotective of those he cares for. Techno who only has Phil. He feels his finger itch for the trigger. The voices cry for blood.

"Can't say I've seen him around lately," Techno lies. "If you leave a message, I _might_ be able to pass it along."

"I know he's here," there's no way that's true. It's a bluff. "I just need to quickly talk to him. It's about Tommy."

The name still… hurts to hear (it doesn't. Techno doesn't _care_ about Tommy. Their relationship had been purely professional at the end. Of course, Tommy turned away from their pact for a better deal. It's to be expected in this world of violence ( _why hadn't Techno expected it?_ )). But Techno has to get over it. Every time someone talks to him Tommy's brought up. Like their lives are bound together (they are. Their lives have always been intimately entwined, _brothers_ even when they don't act it). 

"The brat's still causing problems, eh?" He _knows_ Tommy is, last he heard the kid had a few people who wanted his head. He wonders what he's done this time (he _doesn't_. He'll never show the brat concern again. He'll never let his curiosity get the better of him again). "I'm sure he can sort it out by himself."

He can't. Tommy's never been able to do anything on his own. He didn't know how to build functional _pretty_ buildings. Struggled to make and upgrade weapons. Could never follow all the way through with a plan. All Tommy could do was be a figurehead (Techno _hates_ figureheads), while everyone else worked hard to protect him. While everyone did all the work _for_ him. Just… just look at Logstedshire!

Tommy had been there for _weeks_. And all he'd successfully built was a couple tents and a storage room. He had no armour. No weapons. After _weeks_ he came and stole Techno's gear. Tommy was many things, but he was not a builder. He wasn't a survivor. Or… well, maybe he was. Just the kind of survivor that leeched off others’ goodwill. The kind of survivor that wormed his way out of fights. He wasn't the kind of survivor Techno could work with (why did he ever think it was a smart idea to offer an alliance? Why did he ever think it was a smart idea to let the brat live with him? Why did he care about the leech's life?).

"Tommy hasn't caused any problems," Sam denies, calm as anything. Techno's never heard a bigger lie. He snorts.

"If that's true why have I heard talk about plans to kill him?" The words are said sarcastically. Techno _almost_ regrets them.

Sam, most people forget, is an unstoppable force. It was often forgotten behind Sam's ingenious designs with Redstone and his insistence that he'd remain neutral through almost every conflict they've ever had. But the man was tall, stocked to the tee with weapons and _was part creeper_. The man could be intimidating when he needed to be and if one got caught in one of his Redstone traps, they'd die a painful death. Sam wasn't someone you wanted as an enemy. Sam never looked for conflict. Sam never had an enemy to threaten before.

" _Who_ was planning that?" There's a hiss to Sam's words that is… alarming. Techno doesn't back down. He hadn't lost a life yet and he wasn't going to lose a life due to Tommy (even if it would technically be Sam that tried killing him, it was on Tommy's behalf). 

"Someone I'm not willing to hand over to you," he's not sure how true that statement is actually. Niki hadn't exactly _agreed_ to join them yet… but it was probably best to keep her motives secret for now. He shouldn't be throwing potential allies at people that looked _that_ angry (anger that was painfully obvious even with the mostly covered face). It wouldn't look good for their image.

Sam stares at him. It's an unnerving few seconds and Techno _swears_ Sam's eyes _glow_ behind red tinted goggles. His trigger finger wavers (he'd never admit to it).

"Fine," Sam says after a moment. "But that makes my visit all the more pressing. Where's Philza?"

"As I said-"

"Techno," Phil's voice comes from behind him. "Maybe we shouldn't be causing conflict with everyone we meet. At least until we've had a civil conversation first?"

Techno doesn't know what to do. He's split. Mind racing. The voices are louder, begging him to pull the trigger. Goading him into acting _now_. Mocking him for _not ending Sam's life already_. But a part of him wants to listen to Phil… Phil who is on his side. Phil who never betrayed him. Phil is _here_. 

(Why did Phil have to reveal himself? Prove Techno as a liar to Sam. Forcing Techno to _try_ and ignore those tempting voices (the voices always knew what was right, except from that time they insisted he protected Tommy; that they cover for his idiotic brother's mistakes).)

"Fine… But you say even _one_ word that upsets Phil and I'm taking it as a declaration of war," Techno relents as much as the voices will allow (he hopes Sam upsets Phil, so he can just end the creeper's life).

"I can't guarantee that," Sam admits, before Techno can pull the trigger though he adds, unhurriedly. "I don't know enough about your relationship with Tommy to judge if it will upset you."

"He's my son," Phil says and… Techno doesn't want to be here for this conversation. He's not sure his heart can take an emotional discussion about Tommy and what he is to them. But… he can't just leave Phil. Can't abandon the only person who believes in him, the only person who has stayed with him, even if it means allowing Tommy to break his heart again. To allow unhealed wounds to be ripped wide open _again_.

(Tommy shouldn't have been able to hurt him this bad. He shouldn't have trust issues now because of one betrayal ( _was it really only one betrayal though?_ ).)

"I know that," Sam says. "That's why I wanted to talk to _you_. But just having a parental relationship over someone doesn't really give an accurate representation of your relationship. You could love and care for him as his father, but you could also hate and resent him as his father. Thus, I don't know if what I want to talk about will upset you."

"I…" Phil struggles to sum up their relationship with Tommy. A relationship that's felt frail and destroyed for too long now (but when it was good… Techno has never felt the level of joy he felt when Tommy and he were working together. When he thought they had the same goal). "I love him. He's my son." 

Sam hums. The sound has a hiss to it that really makes Techno want to grab Phil and back away. _Afraid_ that Sam was going to leave them with a crater to fill up.

"This _might_ upset you then," Sam says before rummaging through his pack.

This _might_ upset Phil? It… it couldn't be a confirmation that Tommy had lost his last life then… surely if he were here to relay _that_ information Sam would assume it _would_ upset Phil? Sam was a prison warden last Techno heard… maybe Tommy had got himself into trouble ( _again_ ) and was being locked away. Did Sam need permission to lock away the brat? Sam seemed like a stickler for rules and regulations, it wouldn't surprise Techno if that _were_ why he was here. Techno… couldn't really think of anything else. Couldn't think of a reason that _Sam_ would be here to talk to _Phil_ about _Tommy_. 

Sam pulls out a stack of bound papers that look official. Techno wants to rough them up on principle. He _hates_ official.

Sam hands them over to Phil without a word and… Techno wants to look over Phil's shoulder at what was so important Sam had to find them in the middle of nowhere. He can't though. He has a threat to keep. Needs to keep his eyes on Sam and his finger on the trigger that _could_ end Sam's life. Instead, he's forced to listen to the rustling of pages. Forced to only catch the slight image of Phil's expression from the corner of his eye. The agitated grimace and the progressively angry page turning doesn't bode well for Sam.

"You're here to demand I hand over my parental rights to you?" Phil's voice wavers, like his voice is choked up by the anger and the disbelief and the shock.

Techno goes to pull the trigger. 

Sam holds his hands in the air, a show of surrender.

Techno hesitates.

"I'm not demanding anything," Sam says, calm as anything. "I'm here to request it. To gauge your reaction. I haven't exactly discussed this with Tommy yet. He might not even want it."

"But you _think_ he'd agree," Techno says, his voice harsh (it has to be harsh, so he can distinguish his own words from the too loud chorus of voices in his head). "What? Has Tommy been going around crying about being abandoned by his family? Saying how horrible I was? How horrible _Phil_ was? The only people on his side?"

Sam is quiet for a moment. Watching Techno. Watching as Techno's shoulders and chest heave with the deep breaths he's taking. Trying to keep the bloodlust at bay. Trying to keep his anger in check. Trying to _calm down_.

"Tommy doesn't talk about his past. Tommy definitely doesn't talk about the last few months. My source… is questionable at best. I don't trust him, but he has been honest about everything else he's said so far. So, I approached cautiously, not knowing if this would work out but knowing it was the best solution," Sam pauses, his posture suddenly tensing. That searing anger coming back again. "And don't say you were all Tommy had, _ever_ again. You clearly weren't. Maybe Tommy would've understood that if he hadn't been surrounded by people who just wanted to use him."

" _Use_ him? What would I _gain_ from using him? If anything, he was a drain on my resources and interfered with _my_ plans. _I_ was the one that was used!" Techno doesn't like to be emotional in front of those he's not close to (doesn’t like to be emotional in front of those he trusts), doesn't think he ever wants to have an emotional conversation again after Tommy, but this… this angers him, and he can't keep his words to himself. Can't keep his feelings to himself. Why did everyone believe and choose Tommy over him? "I offered him my home as refuge! I was willing to fight the entire world for him! I would've protected him from everyone!"

"Techno," Phil puts a calming hand on his shoulder. Not even Phil can calm his fury.

"You weren't the only one to offer Tommy refuge," Sam says and Techno can feel Phil's hand twitch on his shoulder (this conversation is messing with Phil as much as Techno). "Did you know I was the first person to visit Tommy when he was exiled? I offered him sanctuary in my secret base, he turned me down at the time. That's one of my greatest regrets, but I'm making it up to him now by actually fighting the entire world for him. By actually protecting him from any who would do him harm. But I'm not trying to delegitimise your feelings Techno. You're his _brother_ , you shouldn't be expected to take on a parental role in his life. Not when his father is clearly alive."

"So, you're here to delegitimise my feelings?" Phil asks, makes his words lighter than Techno knows they are. Phil has been weighed down by his family and all their stupid decisions lately.

Wilbur's death.

Tommy's choice.

Techno's opinions.

"I don't really care about your feelings," a statement that could only leave Phil spluttering. "I only care about the truth. And the truth is Tommy is a _child_ , he is supposed to make mistakes and he's meant to have someone there to help guide him through them. The truth is that a parent shouldn't pick favourites and you clearly favour one son over the others. The truth is that although you've failed more than _one_ child, you apparently think you're experienced enough to adopt _another_ child. The truth is that your son needed you and you sided with his abuser."

Throughout Sam's ever growing list Techno can… feel an uneasiness brewing in his chest. He can't say where it's coming from. Whether… Sam's words make sense and that can't be true because that would make Phil (the only person he could trust) untrustworthy. Can't tell if it's a horror over a potential situation he's missed ( _abuser_?). Or if it's that protective instinct kicking in over the way Phil is clearly unhappy, uncomfortable. The hand gripping his shoulder so tightly Techno's sure Phil can feel the bone beneath.

Techno rarely allows himself to get put in a situation where he can be cornered. He likes to be the one to corner others. But this… this feels like a situation where he needs to fight to get out of. A situation where his flight or fight instincts kick in. He pulls the trigger. An explosive arrow sails forward. His aim is true.

( _He did say he'd shoot if he upset Phil_.)

He doesn't get to know if he'll regret shooting Sam. The arrow does nothing against Sam's armour, even as the explosion sends a burst of heat even Techno feels. Even as the explosion makes Sam's hair and clothes fly erratically against the sudden change of air pressure around him. No wonder the creeper didn't even flinch being on the other end of one of Techno's arrows.

"Abuser?" Techno asks, because… He can’t… If someone were to tell him someone had been abusing his brother, he could _guess_ who it was. Adding to the fact that Sam claimed it was someone Phil had worked with after turning his back on Tommy. It’s obvious, but… Tommy hadn’t acted any different around Techno after the supposed abuse. There was no way. He would have noticed if something were wrong. Tommy… Tommy was so loud and confrontational, and he would have said _something_.

_He’d blow up my weapons sometimes_.

_I feel like I can be myself when I’m here_.

_I can’t not eat them! They give absorption!_

Dream… had abused Tommy?

“You didn’t notice?” Sam says and he doesn’t even sound like he’s accusing (Techno’s feeling very defensive suddenly though, like hundreds of voices are yelling that he’s a failure). “Tommy’s good at keeping it to himself but observe him for more than an hour and it’s easy to see the cracks. The effects Dream’s left on him… Tommy’s strong, surviving everything Dream put him through.”

" _What_ did Dream put him through?" Phil's voice cuts through all of the voices in Techno's head. Phil sounds angry.

"I'm not betraying Tommy's trust by sharing what happened," Sam says easily. "If he asks me to speak on his behalf I will, but otherwise…"

"But you'd share the fact he _was_ abused? That's not a betrayal of his trust?" Phil argues.

" _Everyone already knows_. Dream practically admitted it when he lost. I'd assume you would have already heard. I assumed you were the first people to know seeing as Tommy went to you when he escaped Dream," Sam explains. 

"Dream… admitted to it?" Phil asks like… like he can believe it more when someone other than Tommy or Sam, who is clearly on Tommy's side, has talked about it.

"He admitted to the not as bad stuff in front of everyone. Like how everyday he'd destroy everything Tommy had made and gathered. Everyone talking about the situation revealed that Dream had purposefully been isolating Tommy. Tommy never got any of the letters or gifts Dream promised to deliver on our behalf and none of Tommy's messages got out to anyone, including the invites to the beach party everyone _knew_ was happening. This is the stuff that everyone _knows_ , this is the stuff you _should_ know. What Dream did was so much worse," Sam's anger, the fury in his words, is something Techno could respect. If he could get over the fact that Tommy was apparently hurt right under his nose (Techno _had_ visited Tommy in exile, sure it had been to tease him as was expected of the elder brother, but he never noticed anything wrong). If he could get over the fact that the small things Sam was mentioning was considered abuse (because… hadn't Wilbur done worse to Tommy before? Hadn't Techno stood to the side and did nothing to help? Didn't Techno make everything worse? Hadn't Tommy survived that with no side effects? What more had Dream done? What could make stubborn Tommy break?). 

"The beach party…" Phil muttered. Techno didn't know what that meant to Phil (and… shouldn't he know everything about Phil? They shared everything… right?).

"It probably hurt to think your own son didn't invite you to his party, right?" Sam asks. "A lot of people felt bad about it actually. Everyone _knew_ there was a party being planned, but no one had the guts to ask who had been invited. People were scared Tommy hated them for choosing peace over him. They didn't want to face a reality where Tommy had chosen someone over them. That Tommy didn’t care about them anymore. They didn't want to see hatred directed at them when once there was friendship. It's a shame none of us dared to ask though. Dream's lies, Dream's _manipulation_ , would have easily fallen apart if someone asked. Tommy had invited _everyone_ after all."

"Everyone?" 

"Everyone. Even those he didn't like. Like Dream," and… it's easy to picture how Dream could use that to his advantage. How Dream could mess with Tommy-

_Dream's my friend…_

Techno wants to curse himself over missing such _obvious_ signs. The panic. The fear. The way Tommy would only attempt to insult Dream when he was hidden behind Techno. Techno could have done something more for Tommy at the time if he knew. Now…

(Now there's too much betrayal. Too much hurt. Too much everything between them for Tommy to trust Techno or for Techno to trust Tommy. Techno couldn't even hurt Dream if he wanted, he owes him a favour (he wonders if Dream had planned for that when he had Tommy under his thumb...).)

Now Techno has no reason to help Tommy.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention-"

"I'm not here to share information," Sam interrupts (and Techno is a little glad for it… he… he doesn't think he'd be able to help Phil if Phil had decided he was going to get involved with Tommy again). "I'm here because I want to have legal guardianship over Tommy. I _want_ to be his dad. Will you sign the adoption forms?"

Phil pulls himself to his full height. It's nothing compared to Sam's height and his broken wings don't look very intimidating (there was a time Phil could shield all of them; Techno, Wilbur and Tommy, with those large, beautiful wings). Phil throws the wad of papers to the side. A dangerous glint in his eyes. Sam just stares. Observes.

"No."

Sam inclines his head. An acceptance that doesn't feel very accepting.

"Very well. Just… think about it Philza. There's nothing wrong with admitting you're not perfect for a job. There's nothing wrong with seeking out those that are better equipped for the job. There's nothing wrong with giving up when you fail," Sam says. "Just know when you're dealing with lives, when you're failing as a father, you have a responsibility to make sure your children are protected _before_ bailing."

"Your advice is unnecessary and unwanted," Phil glares.

"If you're sure," Sam turns around and leaves. Walks away as though he hadn't shattered the peace Techno was finally starting to accept ( _again_ , his peace was always being shattered just when he reached it). Walks away as though he hadn't managed to ruffle Phil's feathers. Walks away, but not before throwing one last statement behind him. "Oh. I'm adopting Tubbo, as well. But seeing as you never legally adopted him when you found him, I only need Tubbo's permission for that, just so you know."

Neither of them say anything to that as they watch Sam disappear in the horizon. This… wasn't how Techno thought his day was going to go and now… Now the voices are loud, and he feels horrible and… Today is not going to be a good day.

He turns to Phil.

Phil looks disturbed.

"What does he mean by 'as well'?" Phil asks, not seemingly wanting an answer. "He… he said he couldn't adopt Tommy without my permission. What does he mean by 'as well'?"


	2. Unreliable Sources

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam discusses adoption with Tommy (after lamenting about all the things that have hurt Tommy).

There are days when Sam regrets not letting Dream die. He had stopped Tommy from taking Dream’s last life due to not wanting Dream to impact Tommy’s life any more than he already had. Tommy was already traumatised by Dream, no need to let Dream affect his life by having Tommy _kill_ him. But… surely Sam could have been the one to kill Dream for Tommy? Surely, he could have ended Dream’s tyranny himself?

He hadn’t wanted to. Not at the time. Maybe a small part of him was scared. Dream could be terrifying at times and everyone knew those that lost all three of their lives could come back as a ghost. He wouldn’t want to be haunted by _Dream_. He doesn’t think _anyone_ would want to be haunted by Dream. But honestly… a part of himself probably still considered himself Dream’s friend. A part of himself thought that maybe Dream could change, that maybe over time and hard work Dream could go back to the way he used to be. So, he had offered the prison Dream had commissioned him to make to keep Dream away from everyone (away from Tommy).

It was difficult at first. Watching a friend be locked behind gates of lava and obsidian and knowing he _deserved_ it. No one really knew everything that happened between Tommy and Dream. In their last confrontation Dream had clearly avoided the topic while knowing full well what he had done was horrible. Tommy didn’t have the words for it beyond ‘manipulation’ and ‘dreadful’. People had talked about it behind closed doors, trying to gain an understanding by combining the little they knew together. 

The only thing that became very obvious was that Dream had isolated Tommy on purpose. Not so much at the beginning of the forced exile (Sam himself had visited, Sapnap and Lazar had visited him under Dream’s watchful eye and his brother’s ghost Ghostbur was always by his side), maybe at the start Dream hadn’t planned to do what he did, but… as time went on, he had _planned_ for it. Quackity, Fundy and Ranboo all admitted that Dream said they weren’t allowed to visit Tommy. Tubbo had explained that he once used the compass Ghostbur had given him to find Tommy. That the second he was in sight of Logstedshire Dream had appeared out of nowhere and convinced him it wouldn’t be a good idea for the president to visit the person they exiled. Whatever Dream’s original goal had been, it was unimportant because in the end… he had successfully isolated Tommy.

The isolation had affected Tommy. Badly.

Not many had noticed. Or… maybe they had but chose to ignore it, but… Sam was a watcher. Maybe it was due to the creeper in him, but he knew the benefit of standing perfectly still and observing his surroundings. He knew when to blow up at people and knew when to keep to himself. It’s because of this that he… noticed how different Tommy was.

Tommy was good at pretending to be alright, but… sometimes his eyes dimmed. Sometimes he flinched away from contact and people. Sometimes he refused to be around people. Sometimes he refused to be away from people. Sometimes there was _fear_ in his eyes. 

Dream had messed with this kid. This kid who used to laugh so loudly. This kid that used to always be in the middle of a crowd and talking to people. It was days when he saw the damage Dream had done that, he _wishes_ he had ended that snake’s life. He wishes that he had never been Dream’s friend. He wishes he had visited Tommy more. He wishes he had _done something_. Wishes he hadn’t stood back and observed like he always did.

Getting the opportunity to become an actual friend of Tommy’s made the feeling all the worse. 

Tommy had approached him to visit Dream in prison and where he hadn’t _wanted_ to let Tommy near his abuser, he had accepted Tommy’s plea. In letting Tommy go Sam had been granted two valuable things. The first was Tommy’s friendship.

Sam had always been fond of the kid. It’s why he offered sanctuary to the kid when his exile started. The two had never been close though, which is why Tommy never accepted his offer. Which is why Tommy had gone to his brother, Technoblade, when things had gone bad. Sam still doesn’t know if that was the wisest decision on Tommy’s behalf, but the kid didn't really _have_ many choices. And whatever past choices were made they still came out with… a mostly favourable outcome. Such as their friendship (such as a Dream captured with no one willing to trust him _ever_ again).

Tommy had been amazed by his skills in building when he witnessed the prison. He had requested Sam’s help on a personal project. Part of Sam wanted to offer his services for free, but… Tommy wouldn’t have taken that too well and it probably wasn’t great adulting to just let children think everything in life came without work or negotiations (not that he thinks Tommy doesn’t know that lesson, which… is a shame really. He should be allowed to be a kid). He had requested diamonds for compensation, admittedly a much smaller amount than he would usually ask for and sent Tommy out on ‘quests’ for the less dangerous items. He had signed the contract that Tommy had brought and tried not to feel sad at the non-negotiable clause that Sam protect Tommy no matter what. Just how many times had Tommy been burned to think he needed to add that clause?

The second thing to come out of the prison visit, and the thing that sometimes made him glad that he hadn’t killed Dream, was information. 

Whether the prisoner or visitor wanted it, Sam was given full access to their conversations (there was small print in the waver that everyone who entered had to agree with). So, he had heard Tommy and Dream’s conversation. He had heard Tommy’s taunts, attempts at trying to belittle Dream, that quickly faded out to questions. Sam’s not sure how aware Tommy is that some of his questions came out with genuine concern. As though he was worried over Dream and his imprisonment.

(Sam’s sure Tommy caught onto it a couple of times. Quickly changing concerned questions ‘what do you even do around here?’ to condescending remarks ‘it must feel dreadful to one day go from having everything to just this tiny little cage. A cage you’ll have to live in _forever_.’)

More importantly he saw the manipulation Tommy spoke of up front. There were a couple… of words that made him feel uneasy, but it was the apology Dream gave, the way he made himself seem weak when Sam knows Dream has been testing his limits in the prison from the second he entered, that really made Sam want to barge in and end this visit _now_. It was almost like… almost like Dream was trying to flip his and Tommy’s position of power around. To make Tommy see himself in Dream. It was a horrifying thought. What could that do to a person’s mental health? Would Tommy mistake himself as an abuser? Would Tommy start acting out like Dream had? Would Tommy start doubting the things he had been through? Sam… didn’t know. He wasn’t a professional. He continued watching over the exchange.

He watched as Dream agreed to write Tommy five books to atone for what he did to him. He watched as Dream allowed Tommy to talk and ask questions. He watched as _Dream_ was the one to ask that Tommy leave him alone, as though Tommy was a threat to him. As though Tommy had hurt him. Had made him uncomfortable. 

He had escorted Tommy out. Relieved to have Tommy away from Dream. He pretended that Tommy’s relief and joy at ‘finally being free’ were true. He pretended that he hadn’t seen the ways Dream had harmed Tommy and was still planning on harming Tommy. But he was only pretending for Tommy. Only pretending in _front_ of Tommy. He didn’t know if mentioning what he had seen would stop Tommy from progressing. From healing. He’d make sure Dream wouldn’t get his claws into Tommy again and he’d make sure Tommy _could_ heal. He’d make Tommy’s joyful yells true.

After sending Tommy on his way that day, the day before they had become _best_ friends, Sam had met the real Dream.

Maybe it wasn’t right to call him the real Dream, he couldn’t believe that all the friendships before had been untrue, but a person didn’t just become like this. They didn’t just become twisted. They didn’t laugh and mock and talk about killing a child like it was _easy_. Whatever the case Sam met what Dream had become.

Sam had hardly entered the control room. A room only wardens of the prison could reach. A room that all speakers and intercoms around the prison could be reached. He had _only just entered the room_ when Dream’s voice called out.

“You know the olive branch was unexpected,” Dream says.

A look at the camera shows Dream’s crouched in front of the lava of the cage’s entrance. One of the books Tommy had crudely labelled rests in his hands. The other four lay against the floor beside him and his fingers brush against the books as though they’re precious. As though Dream cares for this olive branch.

“Could have asked for better reading material mind you, but this is Tommy we’re talking about,” Sam wants to argue that Dream shouldn’t be talking as though he’s familiar with Tommy (but Dream _is_. Dream has had power over Tommy for months. Probably longer if you consider the arguments and fights the two of them have gotten into over the years prior to that. It’s frustrating and horrible but Dream does know Tommy better than Sam. Dream had created an opportunity to get to know Tommy, had created numerous opportunities over the years). 

“I wonder Sam,” Dream looks directly at the camera as he says that. His mask had been removed when he entered the prison, so Sam had full view of the _gentle_ smile pulling at his lips. “How Tommy will react to _this_ when he returns.”

Sam isn’t given a second to question what ‘this’ is as Dream throws the book he’s holding directly into the lava. The pages crackle, even over the intercom, as they burn. 

Dream picks another book. Reads the title. Laughs. Throws it to its fiery death. 

Not one of the five books is spared. And almost too soon for Dream, his entertainment ends. He stares at the lava. Smile still in place.

(Sam wonders if Dream ever stops smiling. Wonders if the mask was a correct interpretation of Dream’s usual expression or if wearing the smiling mask for so long had affected Dream’s natural expression.)

“I wonder if he’ll be disappointed. Or angry. At this point he probably expects something like this. I’m always destroying his stuff after all and these _were_ meant to be for him,” Dream laughs. “Will he accept it? Will he try again? Will he yell? You see Sam, Tommy’s a little unpredictable. Even when broken, even when he had so little hope that he tried to kill himself, he’s still defiant. It’s probably that defiance that’s keeping him going right now. Cause Tommy’s still broken. Tommy still can’t get over what I did to him.”

The laughter sends shivers down Sam’s spine. Makes him want to rush after Tommy right now and make sure he’s safe. The Dream before Sam is one he’s never met. Even in that last conflict, where everyone banded together to save Tommy and Tubbo from Dream, he hadn’t seemed… unhinged. He still… came across as Dream, just… a Dream that was an asshole that didn’t understand that children _shouldn’t be hurt_.

“You wanna know how I know Tommy hasn’t completely left my influence yet, Sam?” Dream asks, like he’s asking a simple ‘how are you?’. “It was the way he _flinched_ , the way he looked at his own hands in fear, when I _begged_ him not to throw the clock or books into the lava. Do you know how many times he begged me of the same thing? Do you know how many times I explained I had to do it for his own good? For everyone’s own good? He probably thinks he’s a monster right now, a monster just like me.”

Sam presses a button in the control room. 

A bunch of raw potatoes land in Dream’s room.

“Your dinner.”

“Why, thank you Sam.”

And Sam wants… he wants to ignore his words. Wants to make Dream suffer. Wants to kill him. But… Sam is part creeper. He knows when to observe. He knows when to let his emotions burst. He knows the best time to strike. 

Striking down Dream now is pointless. Useless. And… although Sam doesn’t know it that first day of meeting the Dream-that-had-become… it’s a valuable source of information.

Tommy doesn’t like to share things. He hates explaining what happened under Dream’s control. He hates explaining his exile. But he _wants_ people to know. He had yelled at Dream to share the details when he was beaten, because he wanted that information out there without having to go through the emotional trauma of sharing it himself. Dream had of course denied him. 

Dream was willing to share now.

Sam isn’t stupid. He’s sure… Dream wants to manipulate him somehow. There’s no way he’s sharing these things because he’s lonely or bored. There’s no way he’s sharing these things for Tommy’s benefit. There’s no way he’s sharing these things for Sam’s benefit. After all, Sam is fairly sure Dream hates him right now. Sam was denying Dream his ‘favourite toy’.

Through Tommy’s first prison visit they, Dream and Tommy, had planned for another a couple days later. The day when Tommy was expecting Dream to give him books as an apology. The day when Dream was going to reveal the books were little more than ashes.

Sam hadn’t let Tommy visit.

Tommy took his explanation that Dream wasn’t behaving at face value. It wasn’t even that he was lying, Dream _had_ been trying to escape again. Trying to find a way out of the lava. Trying to find a way past the almost unbreakable blocks. Sam had watched as Dream’s hands bled as he repeatedly punched a block of his cell, trying to cause _some_ damage.

Dream had taken his explanation for why Tommy couldn’t visit as a challenge. 

“You know Tommy tried to make a game out of this clock,” Dream said conversely, as though Sam hadn’t heard their entire conversation the first time. As though Dream hadn’t admitted to pretending to beg for it not to be destroyed to mess with Tommy.

Dream throws the clock in the air. Catches it. Throws it up again.

“It really is the only way to entertain yourself here if you don’t like writing after all,” Dream says, “think I should take a page from Tommy’s books?”

Sam has no idea where this trail of thought is going, so Sam doesn’t expect it when Dream brings the clock back and _lobs_ it at the lava. He doesn’t think _anyone_ would expect that. It starts melting at the first touch and then disappears amongst the oranges and reds that light up Dream’s cell.

Dream laughs.

Sam laments the waste of materials.

“You’ll have to make a new one,” Dream grins at the camera. “It’s rather inhumane to not give me something to tell the time. After all, it’s going to be a long time until I get to see the light of day again. I need something to help me keep track of time.”

Dream breaks five clocks and Sam is no more likely to let Tommy come and visit. If anything, he wants to keep Tommy away even more. If anything, he wants to stop making those clocks even if it’ll be ‘inhumane’. If anything, he’s starting to hate Dream as much as Dream now surely hates him.

But he can’t hate what this situation has provided him. Because Dream mocks him. Dream mocks Tommy. Through his mockery Dream shares every detail of Tommy’s exile. Through his mockery Dream shares a horrifying picture of the way Tommy had grown up alongside his brothers. 

Sam was already protective of Tommy. Now he feels an almost feral need to _protect_. _Guard_. _Keep safe_. He doesn’t pay the almost nervous thought that Dream might be trying to manipulate him to care more for Tommy, because… even if somehow Sam caring for Tommy will benefit Dream, it will more importantly benefit Tommy. The kid doesn’t deserve to deal with anymore bullshit. 

Of course, he’s also aware his source of information is _Dream_. A proven manipulator. A person that had been breaking the only few items that could provide him entertainment, because he thinks it’s more entertaining to watch Sam make him new items. Because he gains more pleasure from trying to agitate others. Because he gains more pleasure from making others suffer.

With all of this in mind he approached Puffy. She’s the only one around that has any idea on what to do about mental health issues and she’s the one that provides him with the answer on what he can do here.

“Tommy trusts you. You can’t mess that up. Talk to him about what Dream’s told you. Tommy will be able to tell you if what Dream said is true and it might help Tommy come to terms with what Dream did if he talks about it to someone. Just make sure Tommy _knows_ he doesn’t have to talk about it if he doesn’t want to. Give him a way out if things get too emotional for him.”

So, Sam had invited Tommy to his house. His house was well guarded but most importantly, the reason why his house was well guarded, he had a dog. His large beautiful white dog Fran that he often curled around when he was feeling emotionally drained. His beautiful dog that he hopes could bring Tommy some comfort if their conversation got too uncomfortable for him.

Tommy had surprisingly been open to talking about what Dream had told Sam. Behind protected walls with a lovable dog on his lap, Tommy had opened up and sometimes further explained some of the things Dream had told him. Though there were some things Tommy refuted even when… even when Sam’s sure Dream hadn’t actually been lying.

“I’d never willing jump into lava, Big man,” Tommy denies the suicide claims by… making them seem more likely (Dream hadn’t mentioned lava).

“Wilbur… Wilbur was a good brother; he was actually there for me you know? He just… he just kinda lost it at the end. I like to just remember the Will from before Pogtopia,” Tommy defends his dead brother by… incriminating the last weeks of his brother’s life (the only days Dream actually talked about).

“Phil’s sad. He can’t get over killing Wilbur, so what’s the point in blaming him for anything? He’s depressed,” Tommy reasons his father’s neglect away (just like Dream had claimed he would).

Sam doesn’t call him out on it though. He has Tommy’s trust. He’s not going to ruin that. He observes. Watches for the potential lies, so he can protect them from the potential aftermath of such lies, while allowing Tommy to reveal what he wants. While allowing Tommy to control the narrative.

He’d much rather Tommy have that control than Dream.

(He can’t deny that the information Dream had given him was the catalyst for their late-night talks. The catalyst for the two of them opening up to each other.)

It’s due to their usual late night talks that Tommy is waiting in his house, Fran flopped across his lap, when he returns back from Philza’s. When he returns from his first failed attempt at adopting Tommy. First because… if Tommy gives him his blessing, he’ll try again and again and again. He’ll keep going until he succeeds.

“Hey Big man!” Tommy cheers when he sees him (there’s always a moment where Tommy freezes when he sees the gates to Sam’s house rise, like he’s afraid someone’s coming to attack him, like he’s scared about what the moving walls will reveal). “Dream still causing problems?”

“Didn’t come from the prison,” Sam explains, he pats Tommy’s head as he passes him by for the pantry; quickly grabbing some bread before he joins Tommy.

“What? Did you go on a big adventure without me?! That’s unfair! Best friend privileges mean you have to invite me along when you do something cool!” Tommy yells, arms flailing wildly. Fran, being a sweet, good girl, has the patience to deal with Tommy’s accidental knocks. Sam gently calms the frantic movement, so Tommy’s smoothing her fur instead. “Best friend privileges mean the loot is a 50-50 cut- No! 70-30, 70 to me of course!”

“Of course,” Sam agrees, easily amused by Tommy’s justifications on why he gets the most loot when it comes to everything. Even in the contract he had Sam sign he had Sam agree to give all credit towards the hotel they were building to Tommy. Sam had agreed and figured he’d teach the kid how to properly barter at a later date. Such contracts would work with Sam, would maybe work with Tubbo, but no one else would willingly agree to sign that contract. There were no benefits to anyone but Tommy.

“See! You get me Big man! So much easier to negotiate with you than Jack,” Tommy whines. Sam wants to laugh, what Tommy was doing with Jack was kind of hilarious, but… Jack was a threat to Tommy’s life. One of the many people trying to kill him.

“That’s because you’re not trying to negotiate with Jack. You’re using him for free labour so that you can get the hotel built quicker while keeping an eye on him. Remember to be careful while you’re tricking him, don’t take unnecessary risks,” Sam lets the worry show in his voice. Watches as Tommy’s face lights up as though he’s never had anyone show him genuine concern.

“Don’t worry! You know me! I never take an unnecessary risk! I’m strong!” Tommy suddenly looks away. Embarrassed. “And I have _you_ if I do get in over my head, yeah?” 

“Of course,” Sam agrees and any worry he had over Tommy (because Tommy may be strong, but he _is_ a risk taker) is replaced with fondness. He’s going to protect this kid, even if he has to sacrifice himself, nothing will ever happen to this kid while he’s still breathing. 

Tommy grins. 

“So, what big adventure did you rudely leave me out of?” Tommy complains. Trying to cover the warm atmosphere with teasing. Sam’s figured out that the kid hasn’t been allowed to grow comfortable with emotional conversations, learnt that the kid doesn’t even know how to voice his thoughts properly. It’s something he’ll help him with. Another thing to teach this precious tiny child.

“Not an adventure,” Sam admits and… well he doesn’t want to worry Tommy by explaining what happened, but Tommy deserves to know of the conversation. At least Fran is already resting against Tommy, ready to help calm the kid from the emotional discussion that’s bound to happen. “I went to visit Philza.”

“Oh?” Tommy says, voice suspiciously squeaky like it almost cracked. Sam hates the way Philza affected Tommy.

The man that was supposed to be Tommy’s father, the man that was supposed to look after him; to care for him… that man had done none of it, at least from what Sam had seen. Sam hadn’t even known they were family at first, it wasn’t until Phil had yelled an anguished ‘you’re my son!’ at Wilbur that most people had made the connection. The words had rung out across a destroyed country. The emotion behind it meant no one could deny the truth that Philza cared for his sons, even if his actions had proven otherwise.

Always leaving them to fend for themselves. Siding with one brother over the other. Abandoning one brother for the other. Not even trying to make the favouritism subtle.

Sam had seen how Philza had treated Tommy since Tommy had supposedly betrayed Technoblade (Sam couldn’t speak on that, unfortunately, both Dream and Tommy only giving him a few details on everything that had happened there). He hadn’t wanted Tommy around. He had made it obvious he didn’t trust Tommy. He had offered the diamonds Tommy asked him for if he didn’t start an argument when they showed a newcomer around. Said newcomer had tried to agitate Tommy on purpose, trying to start a fight. Philza hadn’t done much to defuse the situation. The little he had done didn’t exactly instil Sam with much hope for his parenting. 

Sam hates the way Philza just leaves Tommy alone. Sam hates the way Tommy cares about Philza’s opinion. Sam wishes there were more he could do than request Philza’s permission for Sam to adopt Tommy (which… apparently Philza was against. For some reason. Sam wasn’t exactly seeing a good reason why he’d be against it. He never seemed to care before).

“Did you need to get some materials off of him?” Tommy asks, nervously. “You could have asked me to go in your place. Phil… Phil doesn’t really trade for goods all that easy.”

Sam would rather dig to bedrock than barter with Philza.

“No. I… I wanted to ask for Philza’s permission for something,” Sam needs to explain this quickly and simply so Tommy can’t misunderstand him. So, Tommy can see how much he cares. He… he’s never felt so scared though, at such a loss of words. What… What if Tommy hated him for this? What if he overstepped his boundaries? “I want you to know that if what I’m talking about makes you uncomfortable in any way you can stop me at any moment. I won’t hold it against you, and nothing needs to change unless you want it to.”

“Like when we discuss what Dream’s said?” Tommy checks and Sam confirms. Reassures. He needs Tommy to understand he has control of this conversation. “Alright. I don’t see how talking about anything to do with Phil is meant to be like a Dream conversation, but alright.”

Maybe it wouldn’t be quite the same as a Dream conversation. Maybe it would be exactly like a Dream conversation. 

“I really care for you Tommy,” Sam starts out. Makes it clear _this_ is why he asked Philza of what he had asked for. That he wasn’t trying to mess with him. Wasn’t trying to manipulate him. “I know you can defend yourself if you need to, but I like protecting you. I wanted to make it more official than the contract we have, so I was asking if Philza would be willing to let me adopt you.” 

“You… want to adopt me?” Tommy asks and… Sam doesn’t know how to read his words. There’s disbelief for sure. A little fear. A little happiness. But a whole ocean of emotions Tommy doesn’t settle into too deeply, so Sam can’t tell what this means to him. 

  
“I’d love to. You’re a good kid, I enjoy having you around,” Sam says. Voice as honest as he can make it. Allowing his sincere feelings to break through. 

“You’re a little young to be having kids, Big man,” Tommy jokes, jokes mean Tommy’s feeling emotions he doesn’t want to deal with. But… but he hasn’t requested Sam to stop the current conversation. 

“Not that young, I could easily have a child that’s about five years old,” Sam decides to joke back. Letting Tommy control the conversation. 

“Are you saying I’m a five-year-old! Fuck you Sam! I’m more adult than you!” Sam laughs, letting Tommy simmer. He had learnt while looking out for Tommy that he would lash out in anger quickly but was just as likely to sizzle out and calm down as quick. Tommy is lucky he wasn’t born part creeper; his explosive biology wouldn’t have been able to deal with his always shifting emotions. 

They sit in silence for a while. Sam not pressuring Tommy. Tommy thinking. Fran pampered under Tommy’s idle hands.

“You want to adopt me?”

“More than anything.”

“You asked Phil about it?”

“I made a request.”

“Can… can I think about it?”

“Of course.”

Tommy relaxes then. The promise of time, of giving him a chance to think this over, a relief. Sam can’t fault him. Sam had brought this up out of nowhere. Tommy probably doesn’t know what a true father is like.

“I’m guessing Phil was eager to get rid of me?” Tommy asks and… he sounds so certain. Not even heartbroken at the concept. Sam can’t have that. Sam has Tommy’s trust. Sam won’t betray or hurt him. 

“No. He was rather angry at the suggestion actually,” Sam admits.

“Sam! You made me think it was already a done deal! What if I had said _yes_? There’s no fucking way you’d get Phil to agree if he’s said no!” Tommy laments, flopping his face into Fran’s soft fur. Dramatic.

Sam rolls his eyes, fondly.

“I can be persuasive when I need to be.”

“Not with Phil!” Tommy denies and… he wonders where that certainty has come from. Wonders what Tommy had witnessed Philza doing. Wonders what Tommy believed to be _so sure of that_.

“Don’t worry about the particulars,” Sam reassures. “You worry about if this is something you want. If it is, I'll go to the ends of the world to assure it’ll come true. Trust me.”

“Yeah,” Tommy peeks up at him from within Fran’s fur. There’s a peaceful amusement in those eyes. “Yeah, I trust you Sam. I’ll leave the details to you, like with the hotel. I’m better at making decisions.”

“The best,” Sam assures. Compliments. 

The future is uncertain, but their night is pleasant. Tommy spends the evening joking around and playing with Fran. Tomorrow, after Sam makes the two of them breakfast, they’ll return to working on the hotel. Their day playing out as they have over the last few months. It’ll be peaceful. It’ll be a reminder that _this_ is what Sam wants by adopting Tommy. It’ll be a reminder that nothing has to change if Tommy decides that’s not what he wants. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thanks for the very welcoming comments and response to this story yesterday!!!! I can't always promise super fast updates like this one, but like all those comments and kudos really encouraged me to at least make THIS update a quick one! I wasn't expecting too much of a response to be honest when I posted this story XD I hope Chapter 2 continues to please you lovely peoples!!! 
> 
> Onto talk of Chapter 2!!! The beginning where Sam thinks about Tommy's first visit with Dream was only meant to be like 1000 words max, was just meant to confirm Sam's unreliable source of information is Dream and show some of the damage Dream's caused Tommy and how Sam has already started to help Tommy with his trauma a little, but BOOM Dream took over the narrative! He really wanted to have his unhinged villain moment and it was quite fun to write actually XD This chapter was mostly meant to be wholesome Awesamdad and I mean I like the conversation with Tommy and Sam, so I hope Sam being a good Dad (being the kind of Dad Tommy needs) is coming across! XD 
> 
> Also! As I said last chapter still new to this fandom, so unsure about how I'm writing certain characters. One is Tommy! I've never wrote a character quite like him. Like... he's meant to come across as like a lovable brat. Like the things he says are sometimes so ridiculous and rude, but like it's somehow endearing? I tried to channel that energy, not sure how well it came across XD I definitely need to make him swear more next time though! Only swore TWICE this chapter (let's just say he was comfortable and tired or tries not to swear as much through serious conversations, even though THAT'S clearly a lie XD). 
> 
> Anyways! Don't know when the next chapter will be out, but I started writing it! And I quite like what I've got planned for it (not sure if it's going in the direction you guys are thinking)! Hope you're looking forward to it!!!!


	3. Sam Nook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Technoblade followed the advice provided by the great Sun Tzu, he didn't expect to be confronted by... this!

Phil didn’t do anything on the day Sam came to him with his intentions to adopt Tommy. Phil didn’t do anything the day after Sam came to him with his intentions to adopt Tommy. Techno had watched and wondered what Phil was actually planning to do. Phil had been… acting like nothing was amiss. Like nothing had changed. But things had changed… Surely?

Techno didn’t bring it up. Not wanting to discuss Tommy with Phil again. He’d like to pretend Tommy didn’t exist if he’s being honest. He’s struggling with trying to accept Ranboo without thinking about Tommy’s betrayal, so he can’t really deal with _actually thinking about Tommy_.

Only that’s not completely true.

Techno… cares. By the Nether he cares about Tommy even after everything the brat did. Even after everything that’s happened between them. Even when Tommy didn’t deny Techno’s claims that Tommy only saw him as a weapon to be used. Even when Phil assured Techno that he wasn’t in the wrong this time. Even after everything…

He cares.

_Technocare! Good brother! Protect!_

His _voices_ care. Why Chat cares for the brat he has no idea, but they rarely encourage any kind of violent conflict with Tommy. The most they’ll do is encourage him to tease and torment him like any older brother should, but… they’ve never insisted he kill Tommy (at least kill him for good). Techno likes to think it’s because Chat knows Tommy’s weak, hardly worth the effort of a fight, but more often than not _he’s_ reminding Chat of that. Reminding them that if he fought Tommy fully geared the brat would fall to his blade in a second.

He cares. Chat cares. Phil… cares?

If this were a week ago Techno wouldn’t have been sure of that first statement. If this were a week ago Techno would have been sure of that last statement. It is not a week ago and… 

Does Phil care about Tommy?

Techno always thought Phil had. They were… family. Kind of. Techno, Wilbur and Tommy had all _technically_ been adopted by Phil, but… Techno had been adopted much older than Wilbur or Tommy had been. He’d been sure of his skills, set on releasing as much havoc on the world as he could and didn’t believe he needed anyone. Phil had shown him how lonely he was, and Techno had agreed to the companionship the older man provided. It was more of a friendship, a deep understanding between the two that they would never betray each other, then Phil had found another lonely child. Wilbur.

Wilbur was the one to call them family. Calling Phil his Dad as though he’d always been calling the man such. Wiggling his way slowly but surely into Techno’s heart and… Wilbur was persuasive and chaotic and stubborn. Techno hadn’t been looking for a family, but after a year of Wilbur’s insistence even Techno started to consider Wilbur his brother. He wasn’t one for showing affection in the normal way of course, but… Wilbur never asked that he stop his teasing or his insults. Just laughed and joined in. Then Phil found Tommy.

Techno wasn’t around as much at first, not because Tommy was an annoying brat (though he definitely was), but because he was old enough to do whatever he wanted without Phil worrying about him. He’d wonder off, causing chaos that would mess with the order of society like he always wanted to. When he was around, he’d tease Tommy and sometimes help him out (when he wasn’t being annoying and trying to just demand things from him). He was under the impression Tommy’s adoption had been an easier process than Techno’s and Wilbur’s.

Techno hadn’t thought he needed anyone. Wilbur had to work hard for the Familia ties to connect. Tommy was being added to a group that had already settled into their roles. It should have been easy. Techno always thought it had been, but…

Why wasn’t Phil doing anything about Sam? He had panicked about it. He had denied Sam the chance to adopt Tommy. He was worried about what Sam was going to do, but… he hadn’t done anything. Phil knew it wasn’t a smart idea to wait around for things like this. That to sit and wait allowed the enemy to plan and strategize. Phil _knew_. Techno had hammered war tactics into his family’s head. Made sure they all knew. Made sure they could minimise the loss if they weren’t strong enough to fight and-

Phil wasn’t doing anything!

Techno… couldn’t bring it up. He should. He should go and ask Phil what he was planning on doing. How he was planning to deal with Sam. He didn’t want to know what Phil was going to do. 

If Phil was planning on bringing Tommy here. If Phil was planning on visiting Tommy more often. If Phil was planning on murdering Sam. Techno wanted no part of it. Ignorance could be bliss.

_Technolie! Technodenial! E!_

He wasn’t lying! Techno knew what he could deal with. Knew he couldn’t deal with knowing Phil’s plans. If Phil wanted to help Tommy, it would feel too much like a betrayal. If Phil didn’t want to help Tommy, it would _also_ feel too much like a betrayal. Techno wasn’t going to interfere with Phil’s plans. He wasn’t going to do anything about Phil.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do nothing. 

‘ _If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle_ ,’ a quote from the legendary Art of War. A quote that Techno was going to be living by.

Techno knew himself.

He knew he couldn’t deal with even the slightest hint of betrayal right now. He knew he couldn’t deal with anything related to Tommy right now. He knew he couldn’t leave Tommy alone in case this was something like the Dream situation (Dream had abused Tommy? What?!). 

He also knew he knew nothing about Sam. He… seemingly doesn’t know anything about Phil (Surely Phil should be planning some kind of plan right now, right? It’s what Techno would have done in his place!). 

He’s not going to touch the Phil part of that equation ( _yet_ ). But he can deal with the Sam part. He can… make sure Sam isn’t going to harm Tommy at the very least. He can check Sam was being genuine with his request to adopt Tommy. If he were lying, he’d… try to relearn Phil (did he really not know Phil? He had to know the man, right? They’ve known each other for years; they’ve been through so much together!). He’d relearn Phil and help Phil out with Tommy. If Sam was telling the truth…

Techno doesn’t know what he’ll do actually. Congratulate Tommy? Mope around that Tommy had so easily replaced them? Pretend he saw nothing and carry-on ignoring Tommy’s existence? 

Techno doesn’t know, but that’s the point of this research. If he knows his enemy and himself (and his ally) he’ll know what to do. He’ll never fail. 

When he leaves to investigate on his own Phil is with Ranboo. Everything seems normal. It was like Sam had never visited (Techno’s inventory says otherwise, clearly an explosive arrow short). 

He doesn’t pay it any mind. Doesn’t bother calling out to them. They’re used to Techno coming and going whenever he wants. Sometimes silently. Sometimes with ceaseless commotion. Can’t be too predictable after all. They never comment on it either way.

He heads towards the crater where L’Manberg used to be.

It’s an instinctive decision really. Tommy with his love for the destroyed nation, the corrupt nation, always came back. It didn’t matter how many times the nation had hurt Tommy, it didn’t matter how many times he was exiled, he always came back. He’s surprised to see it still a destroyed mess. Craters where TNT had been let off. Some of the structure Phil, Dream and he had made to release Withers on the nation still standing. It’s an abandoned area. A nation finally destroyed after its corruption left its people with nothing.

Techno hates Governments. This wouldn’t have had to happen if Governments and positions of power didn’t exist. If people weren’t constantly playing with others’ lives. 

(Why didn’t Tommy see that?)

There’s no one there. No one is trying to rebuild. Everyone accepts L’Manberg’s fate. At last.

This does put Techno in a little bit of a predicament mind you. He doesn’t know Sam. He’s heard Sam used to be roommates with George or something, but… he has no idea where that house is. Sam was… friends with the people in the Badlands? Maybe? He could maybe be found there? Maybe? It wasn’t like Techno could just _ask_ anyone; he wasn’t exactly a trusted figure. When people saw him, they either got scared or wanted to fight to prove themselves.

_Fight! Blood for the Blood God! No! Find Tommy! Badlands! Destroy!_

Well… he had Chat?

“You better not be leading me astray again,” Techno grumbles, but… well what else was he going to do? Continue looking at this masterpiece of destruction he had caused?

It was a masterpiece. Maybe he’d come back for a picture later.

_No! E! Find Tommy! Blood for the Blood Gods!_

Right… finding Tommy. 

Techno’s rarely been to the Badlands, never really needed to, but he has passed through on occasion and… well the place has changed. Not for the better. Red vines overrun a lot of the place. Not everything. But… Well, most of the path isn’t easy to cross anymore. The vines are sturdy when Techno crosses over them, so it’s not a hardship to just walk over them, but… well this place really has let itself go.

Maybe it's been abandoned like L’Manberg. Techno hasn’t passed a person since he entered. It’s as soon as the thought crosses his mind, he hears a familiar high-pitched squeal.

_Tommy!_

Tommy… laughing?

The sound could be coming from a mile away, technically, Tommy was loud. The sound could be leading Techno to his brother and his best friend Tubbo (though he doesn’t hear Tubbo, who has had to learn to be loud so he can have a normal conversation with Tommy). The sound could be dragging him further away from Sam, the person he’s trying to spy on, but…

The only thing Techno is actually sure about when it comes to Sam is that he has some kind of connection to Tommy. If he’s not with Tommy now, he’ll be with Tommy eventually. All he has to do is follow Tommy (and make sure Tommy doesn’t notice him, he doesn’t want to deal with that confrontation. Not yet).

Tommy’s at the very edge of the Badlands area… pulling out weeds? It’s an odd sight to see. Tommy actually working hard. It’s... a sight that might have made him proud before. A sight that… he might have taken a picture of to tease Tommy, or laud over his head if he claimed he couldn’t do something because he was lazy. It’s a novelty.

“You’re not very good at this are you, Jack? I could do this in my sleep! Sam’s not going to pay you if you don’t actually put any effort in!” The taunts and shrill voice that grates on one’s nerves hasn’t changed. Jack probably feels the same with the way his fists clench.

Jack being there is a difference. Techno didn’t know Tommy and Jack hung out. Tommy was just making a plethora of new friends now, wasn’t he? He wonders how long until he betrays them?

“I’m working as hard as possible,” Jack says _politely_. Techno would have mocked Tommy. Wilbur would have teased him. Phil would have complimented and encouraged him. It’s weird to see someone being polite to Tommy. Politeness was for politics. For liars. 

Techno watches from a safe difference. Spying. No one expects him to be here, so why would they try looking for him. Techno watches and… 

Can’t help but notice how insincere Jack is acting. An insincerity that’s so open that even Tommy has to notice and-

_Well_ … would you look at that! Tommy was genuinely suspicious of a person. Techno was beginning to think that Tommy was unable to grasp that emotion. You know what with the way he kept falling back into his friendship with Tubbo (when Tubbo was honestly the person who had betrayed Tommy the most). It was a strange expression to see on Tommy’s face.

Techno would suspect that his expression would be one of rage when he was suspicious, angry that others would try and take advantage of ‘The Great Tommyinnit’. Fury doesn’t warp Tommy’s expression though. There’s an almost… sly look on his brother’s face. A mischievous look. A look that promises a long-drawn-out game that would make the person at the other end of the expression wish for mercy. It was a good look. A bloodthirsty look. One he never expected to see from Tommy.

(Only he does expect it of Tommy. Of the person who betrayed him. Of a person who has spent a good chunk of his life going behind people’s backs for his own self-interest.)

Techno watches. Techno observes. Techno realises (he had already realised) that he doesn’t know his brother as well as he thought he did. Techno adds another name to the observation list.

Tommy works for hours. Sending subtle (Tommy! Subtle? Since when?) jibes Jack’s way and annoying the hell out of the man. Techno would feel sympathetic for the man, he knew exactly how annoying Tommy could be, but the man had put himself in this position to either take advantage of Tommy or to harm him. He wouldn’t give his sympathies to someone who had been trying to harm his brother (only Tommy can be really annoying and honestly Jack probably needs _some_ sympathy).

After the hours of weeding (really? Weeding? What for?) the two part ways. Tommy yelling something about visiting Sam Nook (Nook? Techno’s never heard anyone refer to Sam as Sam Nook before…) for his payment and… wondering down the path. Part of Techno wants to follow Jack to see what exactly he was planning for Tommy (if it were murder, the man better have a fool proof plan, Tommy could be slippery when needed). But that’s ultimately unimportant. What’s important is his current enemies and allies (and himself) and that involved following Tommy.

Tommy leads him to massive scaffolding. A structure that hasn’t been built just yet. A soon-to-be impressive building by the looks of it.

“Sam Nook!” Tommy calls out as he slips through a gate and climbs stairs to reach the entrance of the construction site. 

Techno can’t see anything beyond the entrance from his current angle. Entering through the gate would give him away (and was way too simple for Technoblade to enter! This was an investigation; he had put all his skills to use!).

So, he climbs around the building. Avoiding the gate completely. It doesn't matter that it takes longer to get in, it matters that he's being stealthy. Tommy's loud enough that it doesn't make his spying any harder.

"I did it _all_ this time!" Tommy insists as Techno jumps the fence.

"I did! Go check if you don't believe me!" Tommy yells as Techno finds a gap in the construction work to slip into.

"Really? _Another_ request?" Tommy whines as Techno slowly climbs the scaffolding to find a perch where he can observe his enemies.

The thing is… no matter how close Techno gets Tommy's voice is crystal clear but… he's hearing _nothing_ on Sam's half of the conversation. If Techno weren’t so sure Sam was here, he'd expect Tommy was talking to himself. There… is a weird noise though. A little mumbling noise that doesn't make sense. A little mumbling noise that… that kind of sounds like the animal speak from Animal Crossing? What…?

It takes Techno a good five minutes to climb up to a good vantage point ( _TechnoParkour!_ ) and… well he wasn't expecting the sight he's greeted with. Tommy's laughing with abandon. None of the stress or anger Techno saw in him the last he saw Tommy face to face. None of the suspicion or mischief he saw when dealing with Jack. Just pure joy. A joy… Techno hasn't seen in Tommy since… since he was an even tinier brat. Its alarming Techno can't remember the last time he saw Tommy this relaxed. What's more alarming is _Sam_.

Sam. The creeper hybrid Sam. Sam, the man who had calmly and confidently stood before Techno, the most feared warrior in these parts, just the other day. Who had tanked one of Techno’s explosive arrows like it was nothing (those arrows had killed _so many people_ ). Is wearing a racoon mask. A _racoon_ mask! And from Techno's angle he can see the man is hiding a recording behind his back that plays the weird Animal Crossing sounds Techno heard as he climbed. His other hand types out messages that Tommy reads on his communicator. The whole process looks complicated and a hassle. It's probably why the two of them are still talking even after it took Techno a while to find them. It's a problem for his spying mind you. He has no idea what Sam's telling Tommy. He has _no idea_ why Sam is pretending to be… an Animal Crossing character? This whole thing is weird. 

_Still_ , Techno watches the exchange. Watches as Sam makes a fool of himself. Watches as Tommy enjoys himself. Techno… doesn't know what to make of this exchange. Other… other than the fact Tommy and Sam… seem to have a good relationship? 

"Right! I'm gonna to find those flowers!" Tommy yells, waving his goodbye. "I can't believe you need _more_. You better not be ripping me off Sam Nook!"

Sam responds by typing out a message that's accompanied with those weird noises again.

"I'm trusting you Sam Nook!" Tommy laughs as he leaves and… well… what an odd exchange and… Techno can't exactly say if Tommy's trust is misplaced.

Tommy had been suspicious of Jack earlier. Now he was trusting Sam. Either Tommy was improving when it came to suspecting people or his ideas of what makes a person suspicious was messed up. Sam had mentioned abuse so… that would imply Dream had messed with Tommy so badly he wouldn't be able to tell when something was going right or wrong… But the thing is… Techno can't say if Tommy's suspicions or trust _is_ misplaced. Techno can't say if he's right or wrong cause he doesn't know what Sam or Jack are planning. That's why he's here. That's why he's spying. He-

"Only those wearing hard hats are allowed on the construction site," Sam, with his normal voice, says once Tommy's out of sight. He stares directly at Techno.

“That’s what the gold helmet Tommy was wearing was meant to be?” Techno asks, not bothering to hide when he was clearly seen (though he questions _how_ Sam had seen him).

“Got to convince Tommy to wear armour somehow,” Sam shrugs, pulling the racoon mask off. His usual face mask and goggles are on underneath. Seems a little inconvenient wearing two masks, but who is Techno to judge?

“Not that the gold will protect him all that much,” Techno points out. _Reasonably_. Iron, Diamond; Netherite. There were so many better options than gold.

“If he needs better armour, I’ll get it for him. But I’m not gearing him up for war. It’s just meant to protect him from mobs,” and everyone knew Tommy only cared about armour when wars were involved, when his disks were involved. He’d go running around without anything otherwise. Even leather armour he’d whine was hindering his movement. That he was too cool for armour. “Why are you here Technoblade?”

Techno hums while considering the question. He doesn’t need to think about what he wants to say though. He knows what he’s going to say.

‘ _All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near_.’ Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

He couldn’t reveal his hand. Couldn’t reveal anything to Sam, his potential enemy ( _Phil’s_ potential enemy). But there was something he needed that involved going through Sam for. Something that didn’t _have_ to tie back to Tommy (though very much _did_ ). Something that didn’t _have_ to do with Sam wanting to adopt Tommy, to take Tommy from Phil.

“I want to pay Dream a visit. You’re the person to go to if someone wants to arrange that kind of visit,” Techno explains (lies… semi lies, he does need to go and see Dream. He has… _things_ to discuss).

“I can’t arrange for it today,” Sam says after silently observing him for a while (Techno is not enjoying those long silent stares, but Sam seems to excel at them). “There’s a lot of documents you’d have to fill in before you enter the prison as well. Would you even be comfortable filling them in?”

Techno blinks. Tries to hide his confusion, surprise, at Sam’s words.

“Comfortable?”

“Well, you’re firmly against government and powers of authority, right? One of the forms has the signee agreeing to obey my word while in the prison. Or well… mine or any warden in the prison, but that currently just amounts to me,” Sam explains. 

It’s odd to have someone checking if he’s ok with not being able to fight against the corruption of society while temporarily obeying the laws and rules society has created. It’s stranger still to have someone who knows he’d rather blow a village up than bow to the whims of any king would trust him enough to visit a prison. Who exactly _is_ Sam?

“I can behave for an hour or so,” Techno shrugs like it’s not a hardship. “Can’t be an anarchist 24/7, when’d I have time to rest and relax if that was the case?”

Sam nods. Accepting his word _just like that_.

“I’ll see if I can arrange something. Dream has to give his consent to the visitation as well. I’ll message you the details later if the man agrees.”

Now _that’s_ something Techno doesn’t doubt will happen. He can even bet Dream’s going to bring up the favour Techno owes him while he visits (really? Why’d Techno have to be so honoured bound? Couldn’t he just be like ‘hey I didn’t kill you for being annoying, _that’s_ your favour’?).

“Right…” Techno agrees, but before he leaves, he has to ask. The curiosity is _killing_ him. “What’s up with the racoon mask?”

Sam looks down at the mask and… it’s really annoying not being able to get a read on this man’s expressions and body language. He’s too calm. Too collected. Doesn’t look fazed to be wearing a rather childish looking mask.

“It helps Tommy focus on building. He thinks it’s fun,” Sam says, looking back up to Techno. “Are you visiting Dream because of Tommy?”

“Why would I do _anything_ for Tommy?” Techno huffs, before leaving. Those words haunt him as he leaves Sam. Those words continue echoing around his mind as he finds himself going back down the path he saw Jack go down earlier. His mind echoes.

This isn’t for Tommy… This is for Phil. He needs to see if Sam is a threat for _Phil_. 

Sam clearly had Tommy’s trust. Clearly Tommy thought he cared. Techno couldn’t tell. He didn’t know anything about Sam really. He… didn’t know what was going on with most of the world nowadays. Hiding away with only Phil and Ranboo as his constant company. 

There was a time when _everyone_ was Techno’s enemy. There’s a chance they still _were_. 

Techno takes a _long_ detour home that day. He has more than just Sam to observe. He has a whole world of people to check on. To figure out. He has time to do it as well, he wouldn’t be able visit Dream straight away after all. 

He completely ignores that he has to observe and re-learn a particular ally back home. He… he doesn’t have the heart to face that. Yet.

There’s plenty of other things he has to do prior anyways. Like a _whole world_ of people to observe and learn.

(And if as he’s observing, watching; learning he catches sight of Tommy and Tubbo laughing and joking around, he ignores the small creeping feeling of happiness that accompanies the sight. And if as he’s observing, watching; learning Fundy catches sight of him and _flees_ instantly, he ignores the small amount of dread that ties his stomach in knots. And if as he’s observing, watching; learning he notices there’s a distinct lack of messages from Phil, he reminds himself that he’s a trusted adult that doesn’t need his dad messaging him 24/7.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how we feeling after yesterday's stream?!?! I won't post spoilers here for those that haven't watched but OH GOD! I knew SOMETHING was going to happen, I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT!!!! We feeling traumatized? Excited? We yelling the same things as Tommy???
> 
> Anyways!!!! Onto to talk of Chapter 3!!!! Techno is DEEP IN DENIAL!!!! ACCEPT YOU CARE AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!! Also Phil? What is the bird Dad DOING??? And Sam!!!! Our precious boi Sam is still being the best Dad!!!! I know technically Sam Nook is meant to be a separate character to Awesamdude, BUT I just think it's too adorable having Sam pretend to be Sam Nook to help Tommy cope with everything SO THEY'RE GONNA BE THE SAME PERSON IN THIS STORY!!!! Oh! And if it wasn't clear this is set before Puffy reached out to Techno about the Egg, so Techno doesn't know what all the red vines are about yet!!!!
> 
> I've already wrote the next chapter as well, just have to edit it (which might take a few days), so let me tell you ONE thing about the next chapter. A new character tag will be added to the story because... BEE BOI IS JOINING THE STORY OFFICIALLY!!!! CLINGY DUO HERE WE COME!!!!
> 
> (ALSO!!!! ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU FOR ALL THE LOVELY COMMENTS!!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!! <3)


	4. Creeper Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy... you made such progress ASKING someone else for their opinion... maybe next time don't ask the OTHER traumatized teen though?

Tommy fucking hates Snowchester. It's a reminder of everything he's loved and lost and it's so ridiculously cold! The snow is probably the thing he hates the most. Reminds him of a time not too long ago where he almost froze to death to escape Dream (reminds him of a time when Techno found him hiding under his house and instead of turning him away to certain death, took him in like he cared; took him in like they didn't _hate_ each other). The weather's the only thing that reminds him of Techno mind you, everything else reminds him of his _other_ brother. His _dead_ brother. There's a familiarity to the buildings and their structure and- Did Tubbo really need to build the place so similarly to L'Manberg? 

Right now, the _great_ Tommyinnit is standing beside Tubbo, freezing his balls off, as his best friend built a _wall_ around his new home. Tubbo yammers on about something (it could have been something about a bee farm, or how they were preparing to test out the nuclear weapons they were building again, or how the wall had to be adjusted because Puffy's house was in the way). Tubbo had been talking for a while now, undisturbed by Tommy's unusual quietness, and Tommy was mostly paying attention (all of those topics had come up at some point over the last hour and a half, he's positive). 

"Can you cut those trees coming up?" Tubbo asks. "They're gonna get in the way in a bit?"

"Who do you think I am?" Tommy grumbles as he slowly unwraps his arms from around himself to get his axe out. "Some slave? Some cheap whore?"

"Of course not, Tommy," Tubbo says, easily. Too easily. "Slaves and whores put in more effort than you."

For a moment Tommy thinks about not getting offended. After all, Tubbo is _joking_. Tubbo's already proven he can't live without Tommy in his life. It would be cruel of Tommy to deny Tubbo of his daily dose of Tommyinnit over a _joke_.

"Fuck you!" He crows, nonetheless. He can be offended _and_ not deny Tubbo his Tommy time. 

"No thanks!" Tubbo says cheerfully. Attention completely focused on the stone wall he's building. 

With a huff Tommy turns to the trees Tubbo had pointed out, grumbling the entire way. He was _too_ nice sometimes. Tubbo better be _thankful_ for all this effort he puts in! 

The axe thuds firmly against the wood. Tommy brings his arm back and swings the axe forward again, slowly chipping away at the sturdy wood. The motion is familiar. A repetitive motion he could do in his sleep (quite literally, Tommy sleepwalks most nights and has woken up doing all kinds of menial tasks. He hasn’t told anyone about that… at least he hasn’t woken up trying to _swim_ since he’s escaped exile).

“As I was saying,” Tubbo continues rambling. “The wall was meant to be finished like a week ago, but with the way people have spread their houses out, it’s taken a lot more material gathering than I originally planned. Not that I’m complaining, just was an unexpected problem that-”

Tommy doesn’t mind the rambling. It’s… it’s not like he _needs_ the sound but having _Tubbo’s_ voice softly in the background reminds him that he _isn’t_ at Dream’s mercy. That he _isn’t_ still in exile. That everything he gathers now isn’t going to be taken away and destroyed in front of him. It reminds him that this is worthwhile. That it isn’t a pointless task he’s completing for the sake of something to do. Reminds him that he won’t have to squirrel anything away after all is said and done. 

A final swing of the axe leaves the tree a much more manageable pile of wood. He'll bring it back with him, maybe Sam can make use of it for the hotel!

"Don't leave all the leaves behind!" Tubbo complains. "Also replant any saplings that are around!"

"You're so bossy," Tommy complains, following Tubbo's orders. "I thought _I_ was meant to be the Big man here?"

"You are, but you're also my _sidekick_ , remember?" Tubbo teases and- He can't just use the words he thought were going to be his last against him! He was being extra sappy to try and cheer Tubbo up, Tubbo who was _about to lose his last life_. Those words shouldn't be used against him like this!

It takes too long for Tommy to think up some witty reply though (and he _is_ full of them) because his communicator chimes in. Forewarning him of an incoming message.

"Is it Sam?" Tubbo asks, as Tommy puts his axe down for a second to pull up his messages. "I bet it's Sam. Tell him I said 'hi'!"

It is Sam. Tommy's not about to admit to that though. It could have been _anyone_ messaging Tommy. He's popular. Hundreds of people vie for his attention! 

_You still at Snowchester?_ Sam questions and Tommy ignores any warm feelings that bloom from the thought that someone cares enough to ask about his plans for the day and to _remember where he's going_. He's a big man. Practically raised himself. It's unnecessary. Tommy's probably wasting Sam's time. Sam _is_ busy after all. Hotel and bank to make. Prison to guard. The whole Egg ordeal to keep an eye on. A dog to look after. Sam was a busy man.

_Yeah. Tubbo's building a wall and talking about bees or some shit._ Tommy pauses before adding. _Tubbo says hi._

Sam might be busy, but Sam had messaged _him_ , so Tommy's going to soak up every ounce of attention Sam decides to grace him with and… well… there was that conversation they had the other day. A conversation that Tommy couldn't stop thinking about, but no matter how much he _thought_ about it… it still didn't make sense.

Adoption? Him and Sam? What… what was that even about? 

His communicator pings again. 

He looks down.

Another message from Sam. 

_Did you want to spend the night in Snowchester? I was thinking you, Tubbo and I could have dinner together! It's been a while since all three of us hung out. Also tell Tubbo I say 'hi' back._

That… that sounded great to be honest. He and Tubbo tried to hang out as much as possible, to message each other as much as possible, while maintaining separate lives. The exile and presidential term had shown them both they couldn't live without each other, but that they were equally too dependent on each other. That they broke and shattered when separated. Puffy had insisted it wasn't healthy. That level of co-dependency and… Tommy could admit there was probably some truth to it (though he didn't _want_ to admit it, just wanted Tubbo clinging to his hand beside him forever). So, they worked on their own projects, their own goals and visited each other when they could. They took every opportunity provided to cling to each other. Sam was giving them the opportunity to cling.

Sam usually expected to see him before going to bed. Tommy had his own house (and it was an _amazing_ thing near the hotel's construction site!), but more often than not found himself sleeping over Sam's, in the guest room.

(A guest room that suspiciously had a jukebox and red bed sheets. As though carefully placed there just for him. Like a room designed just for him. Like Sam really meant it when he said- Not gonna overthinking _that_!)

"Sam said he'd treat us to dinner!" Tommy calls out to Tubbo. 

"Did you tell him I said 'hi'?"

" _Yes_ , Tubbo."

"Cool! We eating here or over at the hotel?" Tommy can't help but roll his eyes.

"Sam Nook would _never_ let us eat at the construction site. It's not 'safe' or some bullshit," Tommy whined (there was no warmth in his chest. Just heartburn. Heartburn was normal for every 16-year-old!).

"Sam's coming here then?" With a world-weary sigh, Tommy confirmed. "Cool! It's been a while since he's been by! I can show him how much everything's changed!"

"It's not like he doesn't already know," Tommy mutters, kicking a few leaves away (he still doesn't understand the fuss with just leaving them there, this area would have been covered in leaves if the tree had just been left there _anyways_ ). "You message Sam every day and he asks about what I've gotten up to everyday. He _knows_ what you've been up to."

"But he hasn't _seen_ it!" Tubbo laughs. "You think we can get the wall finished before he gets here? The wall will look awesome when completed! Oh! Do you think Sam would be interested in seeing the nukes? _They're_ pretty impressive!"

"Yeah… I'm sure he'll think all the work you've done is cool, Tubs," Tommy says, before looking away. "Sam's all interested in building and stuff, right?"

And seemingly _everything_. Tommy hadn't been able to find a topic or conversation that was taboo yet. Something that Sam wouldn't listen to. He'd ask questions. Like he was _interested_. And the few times he seemed concerned about what Tommy was saying he'd ask questions that made _Tommy_ _think_. That made Tommy question himself, but like… not in a bad way. Not like with Dream. Dream made him question if he had friends, Dream made him question if anyone cared; Dream made him question what the point of anything was. Sam's questions… made him wonder why he wanted to steal something, or why he thought a good prank was to burn something down, or why he found a joke funny. He never pushed an answer or solution onto Tommy, letting Tommy wonder and question himself. He wasn't disappointed if Tommy didn't agree with him. 

Sam was odd.

(Tommy likes Sam anyways.)

"When will he arrive?" Tubbo asks and all Tommy can do is shrug at the question. "Ask him! I need to know how much time we have to finish the wall!"

"Sam won't care if it's finished yet you realise?" Tommy whines, but still focuses his attention back onto his communicator. He needed to reply to Sam's last message anyways.

_Yeah, sounds good Big man. Tubbo wants to know when you'll get here._ There. Simple. 

"Sure, but I need to finish this either way, and I want Sam to see it!" Ugh. Tubbo could be so clingy.

"Sure, whatever," Tommy rolls his eyes and when his communicator chimes again he's quick to check it. "He says he'll be here in an hour, maybe two."

"Plenty of time!" Tommy snorts, it really wasn't. Tubbo had been working on this wall for a while now, there's no way they'd finish in time. Oh well. It's not like Sam would care about some stupid wall.

(Only Sam _would_ care. If either of them showed an interest in it, Sam would show equal interest. As though walls weren't the most boring thing in the universe.)

Tommy shakes the thoughts away. Not letting himself think too deeply on everything. Just going back to following Tubbo's instructions. Destroying trees, replanting trees elsewhere and removing anything that gets in the way. Tubbo continues to prattle on. Everything they're doing is familiar. Everything they're doing is unnatural. The motions are the same, but the tone… The tone is different. If this were a year or so ago Tommy would be the one yelling out commands, Tommy and Tubbo would be talking over each other eager to share their thoughts; Tubbo would have asked what was keeping Tommy quiet a long time ago.

Tubbo never asks. Never brings attention to the fact that Tommy's changed. Tommy's glad. Likes to believe it means he hasn't changed too much. Knows he has. Knows Tubbo doesn't ask cause _he's_ changed as well. Two _broken_ boys. That's probably what Dream would have called them. Puffy insisted the word 'broken' was the wrong word to use. Didn't make it feel any less true. 

"You know Sam asked something weird the other day," Tommy says. Cautiously, like he's worried if he says the wrong thing Tubbo's going to leave him on his own again (Tubbo's not going to do that. He promised it was the two of them together, forever, from now on). 

"Yeah?" Tubbo questions, not missing a beat. Not even disappointed that Tommy had cut him off mid-sentence. 

"Yeah… it was real weird," and it was. He still doesn't get it. Not really. Why would Sam-

"Did you say something strange first? Like how you're going to build yourself a girlfriend-"

"What?! No! Of course not! Tubbo! I'm serious, it was weird! Like really strange and… Look… I'm gonna tell you what he asked me and… you can tell me what you think! You'll agree it's strange!" Tommy rushes the words out. Tone shifting constantly between nervous, angry and exhilarated, like he couldn't figure out what he was trying to get across. What he was trying to argue.

(Was he trying to argue?)

“It’s just, ugh- he… Sam kinda asked if he could adopt me,” Tommy grumbles, swinging an axe into an unexpecting tree. “Weird right?” 

“That… yeah… I guess it’s a little weird. You have Phil,” Tubbo agrees and Tommy feels glad that _someone_ understands him (he feels dread that his thoughts were right, and he couldn’t even consider Sam’s offer. He had Phil. It would be selfish to accept Sam’s offer. Especially when Sam had said Phil was against the idea. Phil cares. _He does!_ ).

“That’s what I was thinking! Like Phil adopted me already! He practically raised me! It’s odd that he’d ask to adopt me, right?” Odd didn’t mean _bad_ though. It wasn’t like when Dream said something weird to manipulate him. It wasn’t like when Wilbur was losing his mind and spewed out paranoid thoughts. Sam was just odd. He probably didn’t realise it was strange to adopt kids that already had families. 

“Maybe he didn’t know about Phil?” Tubbo guessed. “It’s not like you and Phil have been hanging around each other much lately.”

Wow. Way to blow up a fucking landmine Tubbo! Tommy was doing a rather good job of avoiding thinking about _that_! The first thing Phil had done when he joined them here was _kill Wilbur_ (Tommy still sometimes saw the blood on Phil’s hands even though he _knew_ the man had spent hours scrubbing his hands raw afterwards). Phil had killed his own son, at Wilbur’s request of course, and the trauma kept him away from Tommy. It was understandable. Tommy _got_ it, alright! Tommy and Phil reminded each other of Wilbur too much. Tommy kind of appreciated the distance at first (he didn’t need to look at _Wilbur’s murderer_ ), but then the exile… then the thing with Techno… It was almost like they were strangers. That they shared the same family, but the two of them _weren’t_ family. That-

‘ _Phil never asks about you. Never asks where you are or how you’re doing. At least Tubbo cares enough to ask how you are. He might never want you back in L’Manberg, but he has_ some _sentiments for his ex-best friend._ ” 

He… he knew he couldn’t take Dream’s words as truth. Knows he needs to ignore Dream’s taunting words, even as they echo around his mind like a broken record. But sometime… sometimes he wonders where the lies were. What part of Dream’s spiel was actually true? Where did the lies end and where did the truth begin, because… that was the thing with Dream. He mixed in the truth with his manipulation. A half-truth more powerful than a full lie.

Tubbo had asked everyday how Tommy was doing. Tubbo thought that Tommy leaving L’Manberg was the best option (Tommy seconded that opinion nowadays, Dream would have destroyed them all if Tommy had stayed). But Tubbo also regretted seeing Tommy go away on his own. Tubbo never stopped thinking of Tommy as his best friend. Dream’s manipulations were full of half-truths. Tommy could only get the full truth if he asked and… he couldn’t ask Phil what was true. What Dream had lied about because-

_Phil_ didn’t _want_ to _talk_ to _him_. 

_Phil didn’t want to see him_. 

The only person he could ask was Dream and- Sam wasn’t letting anyone see Dream right now. Dream was misbehaving and- even if he could ask Dream; would Dream tell him the truth? Tommy knew he spoke in half truths. Tommy knew Dream would benefit from isolating Tommy from Phil. Dream would want to hurt Tommy, and Phil not caring, not wanting him… it _hurt_. 

‘ _He was rather angry at the suggestion actually._ ’ 

That’s what Sam had said. Sam had thought Phil was angry at the idea of Tommy being adopted by someone else, but… did that necessary mean Phil cared? There were hundreds of reasons he was angry. Dream would have got angry at the idea of someone taking Tommy from him. Tubbo would have got angry at the idea that he hadn’t done a good enough job for Tommy. Wilbur would have got angry at the idea that he wasn’t enough after all he had done. Techno would have got angry at the mere idea of Tommy. There were plenty of reasons Phil could have gotten angry.

Phil… Phil might not care about him. 

It didn’t stop Phil from being his dad. Didn’t stop the idea that Tommy getting adopted a second time was any less weird. 

“No…” Tommy eventually said, the gap in their conversation large and aching with grief. His thoughts almost consumed him. “Sam knows Phil’s my dad. He… asked Phil if he could adopt me.” 

“Whoa,” Tubbo mutters, eyes widening. His building temporarily stopped, so he could stare at Tommy (and Tommy would be worried at Tubbo’s lack of caution as he precariously stands on the edge of an unfinished wall, but Tubbo always seemed to get back up after a dangerous fall). “Is Sam trying to start another war?” 

“I hope not,” Tommy mutters, it sounds more like a gasp. More like a sudden intake of breath. Like the words are caught in his throat. 

“Yeah, that would suck,” Tubbo agrees. “I can nuke them if they start fighting, if you want?”

“ _Please_ don’t kill my family,” Tommy begs. Tubbo shrugs casually like he didn’t just suggest mass murder. 

(It was at moments like this that he almost believed Techno. Almost believed that violence was a universal language. The only language that people could understand. He could understand Wilbur, Techno and Dream through violence after all. But… then… then he thought of Sam. Sam _and_ Puffy. The two of them went out of their way to use words. The two of them would hold their hands up, far away from their weapons, and allow Tommy to yell and cry without retaliating. Speaking with calming words and soft syllables and- There had to be more than one universal language! If there was only one Tommy wouldn’t be able to have what he has with Sam. he wouldn’t be able to listen to his newest best friend’s words. _He couldn’t have_ this _!_ )

“So how did Sam take it when you said you couldn’t be adopted?” Tubbo asks and-

Oh…

“I… I didn’t… say _that_ , actually… I guess… I agreed to think about it?” Tommy admits. 

“Well, that’s fine. Not the end of the world and all,” Tubbo shrugs, going back to working on the wall, but Tommy just stands there. Uncertain. “But what are you going to do?” 

“I… I don’t know. I have Phil. And- Fuck! That… that should be the end of it, right? Like… I shouldn’t need to think about it at all and… I should probably tell Sam that his offer is nice or some shit like that, but I have Phil…”

“But?” Tubbo prompts when Tommy goes silent.

“But I don’t want to. Can’t I like have two Dads or something?” Tubbo laughs and Tommy feels his cheeks burn red with embarrassment ( _shame_ ). “Tubbo!”

“Sorry!” He’s not sorry. “That’s just not the usual method of getting two Dads.”

“Well, my family’s not exactly _normal_ ,” and it’s not. Phil had adopted three kids, all from completely different backgrounds and each child treated Phil differently. Techno treated Phil more like a friend, Wilbur treated him more like a father ( ~~Tommy was just there~~ ). Then there was Tubbo, who they had found abandoned, they took him in and looked after him, but none of them really treated him like family. More like a family friend that they couldn’t shake (not that Tommy would ever want to lose him). And then there was Fundy who was Wilbur’s biological son who was both younger and older than Tommy (thanks to his mother’s Hybrid biology, Fundy grew much quicker than the average human). Would it really change anything to add another father to the family? They already had a fox Hybrid and a piglin Hybrid, what difference would a creeper Hybrid make?

“You can say that again,” Tubbo agrees and for a second Tommy’s sure Tubbo was agreeing with his thoughts (there were times when Dream would act like he could do that and Tommy would believe him, not realising he was so desperate that it was obvious what he was thinking). But he’s quick to realise Tubbo was just responding to his previous words.

“Are there cases like this? Like do people get adopted twice by separate families?” Tommy asks, because… he sure hasn’t heard of anything like this. Everyone he knows that’s been adopted has been adopted and that’s the end of it. No one ever seemed to want more than one family (maybe Tommy was just being selfish?).

“I sure haven’t heard of anything like this,” Tubbo says, almost agreeing with Tommy’s thoughts again. “But I guess when parents separate, they do the whole custody thing? Like splitting time between each parent?” 

Tommy can’t suppress the laughter at that. It sounds short, clipped; _broken_. It sounds like his laughter back in exile. 

“Like Phil’s ever been there for me before,” the words weren’t meant to sound so harsh. They weren’t meant to sound like he hates Phil (because he doesn’t. He loves Phil. Phil’s always been so cool and amazing. He could survive _anything_ and where Techno was the one people feared in battle, Phil wasn’t any slouch either). His words weren’t meant to sound like _Wilbur’s_.

Wilbur who got so angry at Phil just abandoning them. Wilbur who would rant about how little Phil cared for them. Wilbur who would gently sing Tommy back to sleep when he woke up late from nightmares, Wilbur who would hold Tommy close when he felt like crying so no one else who see his tears; Wilbur who rarely left Tommy’s side (not until he was dead, and the second he had died Tommy suffered. Suffered at the hands of Dream).

“Wilbur was the one who cared for us most of the time wasn’t he?” Tubbo questions. “But, well, I guess custody agreements aren’t always even? Sam would just get 100% custody and Phil would get visiting rights?”

“I don’t need people having those kinds of rights over me,” Tommy glares. “I’m a Big man! If I want to see someone, I’ll just go see them myself.”

“Well, isn’t that what family’s for? Like… looking after a person or something?” Tubbo questions and Tommy goes to refute only to pause-

What is a family for? 

Tommy doesn’t remember his biological parents (doesn’t know if he even had them. For all Tommy knows he spawned into the world through his sheer awesomeness). Then he met Phil who offered him a house. Then he met Wilbur who watched over him. Then he met Techno who offered to train him. Then Wilbur had gone insane. Then Techno got lost in his obsession with ending governments. Then Phil had killed Wilbur. Then Tommy was left to fight Dream alone, with only his best friend beside him.

What was family?

Did he even want one after that? 

What did family even mean?

What did Sam even _want_ from him?

Tommy silently works beside Tubbo as he builds a wall. He thinks. And thinks. And _thinks_. He doesn’t come to any kind of conclusions. All he knows is… Phil had adopted him. Wilbur had wholeheartedly accepted him as his younger brother. Techno had… maybe accepted him as his brother (Techno had protected him from Dream, but Techno would never betray family; Techno had betrayed him). Sam was… currently protecting him? Currently watching over him? Currently helping him? Currently housing him? Tommy didn’t need it, but Sam was doing it anyways. 

What was family?

“Hey, Tubbo…” Tommy calls, voice trembling. Unsure. 

“Yeah?”

“Let’s… not bring this conversation up with Sam, alright? Thinking about it I’m not… sure what I want. Adoption, custody, or _anything_. It’s… all a little odd, isn’t it?” Tommy grumbles.

“Yeah, of course! It _is_ a bit weird! Let me know once you’ve decided though! Being adopted by Sam would be pretty cool,” Tubbo grins and Tommy can’t help but grin back (even if it’s a shaky, pathetic little thing).

“Yeah, it would be. But you know what would be cooler? Being adopted by _me_! I’d make a great Dad!”

Tubbo laughs. And when Sam comes across them an hour later, they’re wrestling in the snow. Tommy’s yelling something about killing Tubbo’s children and when Sam asks them what _that_ meant. Tubbo decides to introduce Sam to his many children.

165 bees. 

They all have ridiculous names. Tubbo swears he can tell them all apart from each other. Sam listens eagerly as Tubbo prattles on, just like Tommy had predicted, and Tommy… Tommy finds himself leaning into the creeper Hybrid. The older man doesn’t push him away, just leans into Tommy like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and Tommy… Tommy tells himself that he’s doing this not because he thinks of Sam as family or something stupid like that, but because the older man is warm. Sam is always warm, and Tommy likes warm. It’s better than snow _any day_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo deserved more bees, but I thought I had to limit myself SOMEWHERE!!!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed seeing into the mind of a traumatized teen this time!!! I enjoyed writing Tubbo and Tommy's friendship!!!! And I REALLY enjoyed writing that last little bit with Sam!!!! I won't have time to write over the weekend, so expect the next chapter somewhen next week!!! Next chapter will be Sam's POV!!! Hope you're looking forward to it!!! 
> 
> Thanks for all the lovely comments once again!!!! They make my day!!!!!
> 
> Until next time, see ya!!!!


	5. A Whole Lot Of Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam is an advocate of good mental health and healthy relationships!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little forewarning for people who get triggered by vomit, Tubbo starts a VERY brief conversation about that, if you want to avoid that when Tubbo say '“Does the food taste weird', skip to 'Before Sam can even begin to question where Tommy came up with that idea'. It's a VERY brief conversation that basically boils down to Tubbo questioning Sam about his creeper traits. It's not graphic or anything, but better to be safe than sorry! 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter <3

Tommy and Tubbo like it when Sam takes his mask and goggles off. According to Tubbo it's _cool_. The way his skin is freckled with green scale-like patches that mark him as a creeper Hybrid. The way his eyes are completely black, except a small pinprick of green that gleamed like the threat of an unlit fuse. The way the inside of his mouth is completely yellow from the sulphur that builds up due to the fact his body is a literal breeding ground for all things explosive. Tubbo thinks it's cool and never worries about seeming rude with the questions he bombards Sam with. Tommy likes it because it _means_ something to him.

"Oi, we're _best_ friends now, right Sam?" Tommy had questioned not long after getting Sam to sign the contract. The concept of Sam Nook hadn't existed quite yet, and they were working together to create a large flat base that they could build upon to make Tommy's hotel.

"Uh, yes?" Sam had agreed, still unsure how to respond to Tommy at the time. Knowing he wanted to be there for the kid, but not knowing _how_ to. 

"You have to take your mask off then," Tommy says. Words firm, stubborn, even as his hands tremble. Tommy had been just as unsure of Sam at the time. A tentative friendship even when the two of them wanted it to work out so badly.

"I don't mind-"

"You don't?!" Tommy had interrupted, voice cracking like Sam had done something entirely foreign. Like he was experiencing the unknown and was _terrified_. Sam hadn't known why Tommy had sounded like that, so he focused on finishing his sentence off. Hoping understanding would become easier, hoping _communication_ would come easier. 

"Of course, I don't. The mask is more for others' comfort than my own," Sam admits, hoping sharing facts about himself will help Tommy adjust to him. Hopes being that little bit more open will make them become closer.

"You ugly under the mask or something?" Tommy asks and Sam doesn't bother repressing a small laugh. Tommy really was an… unique individual.

"Most are scared of my creeper traits," Sam explains, neither confirming nor denying Tommy's assumption about his looks. 

"Can I see then?" Tommy asks, eager. Confident.

"Sure," Sam brought his hands up to remove his mask.

It wasn't meant to be like some monumental moment. Tommy may have never seen him without his mask on, but Sam didn't wear it all the time and plenty of other people had seen his face. He wasn't shy about revealing his face. His reason for the mask and goggles was a practical one. Not having villagers run off at the sight of him was beneficial for trading. But with the way Tommy was watching him, his eyes open wide and his breath caught in his throat, it was like this was some turning point. Something ceremonial and life changing. 

And to Tommy it _was_ that. This was something important. But Sam didn't know that as he took his mask off, revealing sulphur-stained lips and green skin. Sam didn't know that as he took his goggles off and let them hang loose around his neck. Looking to Tommy for the first time without the red tint from the goggles. 

(Tommy's hair was blonder than he had first thought. The goggles always made it seem like there was a ginger tint to the kid's hair.)

“I… was expecting something more threatening, Sam. Why would people be scared of a little green?” Tommy whined and Sam blinked (the action viewable to the teen he had promised to protect). 

“Sometimes I breath out smoke,” Sam admitted, with a shrug. “It’s why I wear a _gas_ mask. It’s just safer.”

“Whatever you say Sam,” Tommy agreed easily. Grinning. “You know Dr- ugh, a friend, a _friend_ told me that a face reveal is the surest way to prove trust if the person hides their face! Glad to have your trust!” 

“Of course,” Sam agreed, instead of pressing further. Not wanting to force Tommy to talk about things he wasn’t ready to discuss. They didn’t have their late-night talks back then.

And where Sam couldn’t guarantee _who_ had told Tommy that, it was obvious. Dream had probably revealed his face to Tommy while he was in exile and claimed that he had only shown Tommy due to them being ‘friends’. And that _is_ what happened. Later Dream would share that story. Laugh about how Tommy was so easily led. Tommy would later, after Sam had asked for his input, explain how Dream _had_ told him that and how he agreed with Dream. How Techno had refused to remove his boar skull from his face when Tommy had asked; how he and Techno couldn’t trust each other at the end of the day.

(Tommy refused to mention if that meant he still trusted Dream.)

Sam hadn’t brought it up again, but he did acknowledge it was a thing that brought Tommy comfort. So, whenever he was able to, he’d take his mask off. When it was just the two of them at night. When building the hotel got a little too hot and he needed to wipe the sweat off behind the mask. When he was having a meal with Tommy and Tubbo, like _now_.

It had been a pleasant evening in Snowchester. Tubbo had shown off the wall he had been building, Tommy had thrown in a few snide comments that Tubbo returned in kind. Tubbo had showed off all of his bees (Sam had tried to remember all of the names, but there had been far too many. He knew they were all bee puns though and he remembered the ones fondly named Tubbee and Tombeeinnit). The evening had ended up with them at Tubbo’s house as Sam made the two teenagers a meal of mushroom soup (perfect for the cold weather). 

“Does the food taste weird with all the sulphur?” Had been Tubbo’s first potentially rude question today, but Sam had only smiled and answered honestly.

“I can’t tell the difference, everything’s always tasted like this, but I’ve been told by friends that some foods actually taste better when cooked in sulfuric water. Though, I’m sure that’s not quite the same as eating around a mouthful of sulphur.”

“Huh? So, there’s just like sulphur always in your mouth? If you threw up would it just be a bunch of sulphur? Is your vomit like flammable?” Tubbo asked, happily eating through the conversation even as Tommy scrunched his face up with a mixture of disgust, displeasure and interest. 

“I can’t say I’ve tried to set anything alight when ill,” Sam admits, amused. 

“That’s the best time to set things on fire though,” Tommy says, speaking his words confidently like he thinks they’re words of extreme wisdom. “No one can get angry at an ill person and if they do you have plausible deniability. You weren’t in the right state of mind, what with the fever and all.” 

Before Sam can even begin to question where Tommy came up with that idea (and try and lead Tommy to the conclusion that it _may_ not be in anyone’s best interest to blame things on being sick) Tubbo’s out of his seat, brandishing a soup and mushroom covered spoon threatening at Tommy. There is the promise of retribution in Tubbo’s eyes.

“You used that excuse when you burnt down one of my beehives!” 

“That was ten years ago, Tubbo. Let it go!” 

“No!” 

Sam pulls their food out of the way as Tubbo lunges. Soup still splatters everywhere, what with Tubbo wielding a spoon as a weapon. Tommy flails under the sudden impact of Tubbo and the two teens find themselves sprawled out on the ground.

“Sam! Sam!” Tommy yells, even though he’s the one easily manoeuvring to pin Tubbo down. Leaving Tubbo to just aimless whack a spoon against Tommy’s wrist inefficiently. “Help!”

“Sure,” Sam says, trying to hide his amusement. He takes the spoon from Tubbo, who shoots him a look of betrayal as Tommy cheers about his apparent success. Tommy’s cheers are premature though because Sam just replaces the spoon with a clean one. “Using hot utensils for a play fight is a little much.”

“Sam!” Tommy squawks. “The betrayal! This isn’t a _play fight_ , it’s life or-”

His words are cut off as Tubbo manages to escape his hold and start whacking his newly required _clean_ spoon into Tommy’s arms. Tubbo laughs maniacally as Tommy starts fighting back. Sam doesn’t bother to suppress his laughter. He guesses Tommy can learn from his own mistakes this way as well. Burning his friends' things down does come with the obvious consequence of an unhappy friend.

Sam spends the evening watching over them, making sure they don’t go too far with their play fighting. They spend a few minutes afterwards finishing their now cold soup and cleaning up the mess the two teenagers had managed to produce. 

“So, what we doing now?” Tommy asks, always so full of energy. 

“We could build something?” Tubbo chimes in. 

“Lame. We’ve been building all day,” Tommy dismisses. 

“We can play a game?” Tubbo questions.

“What kind of game? Ohhh! Why don’t we play truth or dare? We can make Sam reveal all his deepest darkest secrets!” Tommy grins over at him, but Sam just fondly rolls his eyes. “That’ll be fun right, Sam?”

“That’s assuming I’d pick truth,” Sam points out, reasonably.

“Oh! We’ve got a Big man here! The courage to choose dare!” Tommy grins, while Tubbo laughs. Sam shakes his head fondly.

“We can play later if that’s what you want,” Sam can’t hide the fondness in his voice, not that he wants to. “But I do have to visit Puffy before it gets too late.”

“Ah! Sam’s gonna get some!” Tommy goads. Sam _would_ roll his eyes, but he knows that would encourage Tommy.

“Tommy,” he says, a gentle warning in his voice. “We discussed this.”

“Right. Right. Sorry, Big man, forgot you said you and Puffy weren’t like that,” Tommy apologises and… it sounds more normal than when they first became friends. When he first started helping Tommy out, the kid would panic as he apologised. Terrified of doing even one thing wrong. It was nice to hear the kid sound casual when saying sorry. “Well, hurry up with your chat, so we can talk about girls.”

“I thought it was truth or dare?” Sam asked as he picked up his mask and goggles and replaced them on his face.

“This _is_ Tommy we’re talking about, the only questions he can think to ask are about people’s love life’s,” Tubbo comments, only grinning as Tommy shoves him. 

“I can ask lots of different questions! It’s not like I’d ask _you_ about your non-existent love life,” Tommy huffs and Sam does roll his eyes when his mask is back in place. Expression hidden.

“You guys have fun,” he says, avoiding joining into their mayhem, because if he joins in, he won’t get to see Puffy tonight. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“See ya, Sam!” Tommy calls.

“Stay safe!” Tubbo adds. 

“You too.”

Leaving the warmth of Tubbo’s house and leaving the two healing teenagers behind is… a lot harder than Sam wants to admit to. If he could spend the rest of the evening peacefully beside the two teens he would, but there are important things he needs to do. Important things that concern the two kids he’s currently looking after. 

Thankfully Puffy’s house isn’t far from Tubbo’s.

“Sam,” Puffy greets him with a smile after he knocks on the door. “What are you doing out here? There’s no trouble with the Egg, is there?”

“There’s always trouble with the Egg,” Sam hates thinking about the Egg. It had almost messed with his mind numerous times. It was only the Egg demanding he hand over Tommy and Fran that had stopped him from submitting to its’ control. “But that’s not why I’m here. Could I talk to you?”

Puffy gives him a once over. Checking him for injuries or signs of the Egg’s influence. The two of them are friends, they’re working together, but both of them are aware that the Egg had almost made the both of them lose themselves. That it was only their distraught over how the children around them were being treated that kept them sane enough to fight the Egg’s influence. Puffy had all but adopted Purpled, and Sam promised to keep an eye on the kid if he saw Purpled in any trouble. In turn Puffy promised to help Tommy and Tubbo however she could. If one of them had to restrain the other to keep the kids and themselves safe from the Egg, they would do that.

“Well, this isn’t my therapy office and it’s after hours, but I’ll make an exception for you,” Puffy grins as she leads him in.

“Am I meant to pay for your advice as well?” Sam says back. He means it jokingly, because the two of them have been helping each other for years now, but if Puffy ever did need payment for her advice he’d give it. Puffy deserves it for all the work she’s done. 

Puffy laughs. “You know it’s free for you, as long as any Redstone work I need done is _also_ free.”

“Of course.” 

Puffy’s house is cosy. Plenty of wool warm objects scattered around. Woolly pillows, wool covered furniture; all of it multicoloured and comfortable. Puffy leads them to the kitchen, a pillow rests on each wooden chair and bright fabric placemats line the table. 

Sam sits at the table and feels particularly tall in Puffy's house. Having to stretch his legs out further than he normally would.

Puffy busies herself at the stove, before bringing out cups and a teapot which has a wool based tea cosy. 

"So," Puffy starts as she pours them both some tea. "Is this a I-want-to-adopt-even-more-children problem, a Dream-is-causing-problems-again problem, an everyone-is-out-to-kill-my-son problem or I'm-having-a-moral-dilemma-why-did-I-agree-to-be-a-prison-warden problem?" 

"All the above?" Sam questions.

"Maybe I _should_ charge you," Puffy laughs and Sam takes his mask off again so he can offer her a smile. Hoping the smile shows his gratefulness for her friendship and the tiredness from what he's dealing with.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," Sam admits, then stalls by taking a sip of the scolding hot tea (it burns, but Sam prefers that to the cold outside). "I don't even know where to start with all of this."

"How about what you said to me when we last met up? You said you were going to bring up the adoption with Tommy and Philza, right?" Puffy asks, holding her warm cup between her hands. Not drinking yet, waiting for it to be a more manageable temperature.

"Yeah. I _did_ do that,'' Sam agrees. But… how should he describe that situation? How to describe the fear that Tommy will reject him and keep his distance? How to describe the anger at Philza's lack of concern for his child while being stubborn about their relationship? How to describe the worry that he'll never be enough.

"Didn't go how you expected?" Puffy asks.

"Not at all," Sam sighs. He guesses this will go easier if he just… starts explaining. Everything always became clearer after speaking his thoughts into existence. "Tommy said he'd think about it and Philza instantly rejected the idea. I… I honestly thought _Tommy_ would be the one to reject the idea. Philza just… never seemed to _care_ before. Wasn't he willing to hand Fundy over to adoption? What's the difference between Fundy and Tommy? They're _both_ his family?"

"I can't speak on Philza's behalf, but don't make the mistake of believing he _doesn't_ care. He was willing to fight and kill me when he thought I had stolen Techno's horse," Puffy says and Sam just shakes his head, absentmindedly.

"That's the thing. No one, and I mean no one, can deny Philza cares for Technoblade. But it's when you involve the rest of the family that things start to get convoluted," Sam sighs. "Techno and Tommy's relationship is probably going to be the reason this adoption fails or succeeds."

"Ah… They hate each other, right? Yeah… I can see that causing long term problems for Philza. If he can't support both of his kids, he'll," Sam doesn't mean to interrupt Puffy, but his laughter stops her from continuing her thought. "What? Did… I misunderstand something? Or…?"

"No, no… they _do_ hate each other to a certain extent, from the little I've been able to gather they think the other betrayed them? I can't tell how _true_ either side is about that, but for two people who claim to despise each other they look out for each other a little _too_ much," what he's about to bring up is one of the main reasons he came to see Puffy. "Technoblade requested to visit Dream in prison."

"He… did?" Puffy questions, just as taken aback. Technoblade and Dream weren't enemies by any means, but they weren't _friends_ either. They were just as likely to fight against each other as work with one another.

"He did," Sam sighs, takes another sip of his tea (still hot). "I think it's my fault. It _could_ be a coincidence, but I'm not risking that."

"Your fault?"

"Yeah…" Sam laughs, it holds no humour. "You know how you told me I should calmly approach Philza about adopting Tommy?"

"Oh, Sam. You didn't?" Puffy puts her cup down, like she can’t trust herself to hold it while she listens to Sam’s foolishness (he can’t blame her if that’s true).

"I did. I just got so irritated that Philza has such a good thing in front of him and is doing _nothing_ about it. They didn't even _know_ Dream abused Tommy. _Everyone_ knows, but not his family!" 

Silence reigns for a moment as Sam just breathes. Tries to calm his anger down. His lungs feel like there's smoke building up in them. He needs to calm down. He knows when he needs to let his fury get the best of him and this isn't that moment. This is a moment that's meant to help him calm down. A moment to re-organize his thoughts and get his head on straight.

"I just want Tommy to be alright and cared for and I'm not sure if I'm going about this right," Sam explains. Sighing.

"Why not? We both agree that the children around here haven't been treated the best," Puffy points out and it _is_ true. The kids deserve so much better and yet… 

"I think my anger at Philza is justified. I think I'd be a better parent for Tommy and Tubbo than Philza could ever be. But should adoption have been my first option? Should I not have tried to help Tommy fix his relationship with Philza and Technoblade? Techno obviously cares about Tommy even if he won't admit it. Not many are willing to actually go through the effort to visit Dream. But Techno wants to, for answers about Tommy. If he cares shouldn't I be helping Tommy fix those relationships instead of stealing him from his problems?" Sam hasn't been able to get these thoughts out of his head. Is he making the right choices? Should he let Technoblade meet Dream? Would that potentially lead to Tommy fixing things with his family? Was this a betrayal of his trust with Tommy?

"There's nothing wrong with revealing your emotions, thoughts and ideas on a subject as long as you're respectful with how those emotions, thoughts and ideas are given," Puffy assures, then questions. "Were you respectful when sharing your thoughts?"

"Could have been a little nicer when talking to Philza, but… well I didn't force the idea on Tommy. I made sure he knew I wouldn't be angry if he said no and that nothing had to change if he didn't want things to change," Sam had _really_ tried with his conversation with Tommy. Not wanting to overwhelm the teen or scare him off.

"Well, that's fine. Philza's an adult, he can compartmentalize a few snide comments. Tommy's your prime concern here," and he is. Tommy really, really is his prime concern. Sam's always thought it was a shame Tommy never came to him for help through exile, Sam could have protected him from Dream without Dream suspecting a thing, but more and more lately he's thought it was a shame for more than just the safety reasoning. It's a shame they never had this chance to get to know each other before. He _enjoys_ his time with Tommy and wishes they could have spent time together, like they do now, beforehand.

"He is and… I'm worried letting Technoblade visit Dream might… hurt Tommy," Sam admits and… the reasoning for that… the reasoning is horrendous.

"You said Techno cares more for Tommy than he admits, surely-"

"It's not _Technoblade_ I'm worried about, it's Dream," Sam just wants to sigh _again_ , but resists by taking a sip of tea again (it’s warm). He needs to get through this conversation. Charge through it so he can get answers and make plans. "Remember how I said Dream's trying to hurt Tommy even while in prison? Well, I've been able to prevent that by using Dream's escape attempts to keep them apart. Dream can't get visitors if he's misbehaving. If I let Technoblade visit, I'll have to let Tommy visit. If I don't let Technoblade visit I'm potentially stopping Tommy from either fixing his relationship with his family or getting closure."

"Isn't stopping Tommy from meeting Dream preventing Tommy from getting closure?" Puffy asks.

"Dream will _hurt_ him," Sam insists. He's terrified of Dream. Terrified of what Dream will do to Tommy if he visits. Terrified of what Dream's planning, because… at the end of the day Dream _hasn't_ given up. He's still there, trying to influence the world that's rejected him.

"Tommy will get hurt, Sam," Puffy takes her first sip of tea, letting the words linger. Forcing Sam to accept them as fact. "It's something you'll have to accept as either his friend or father. What you need to do is be there _after_ he gets hurt, help him build up a resistance before he faces the troubles of the world. We all wish we could live in an undivided peaceful world, but with so many people with differing views that _can't_ happen. We need to learn and teach others how to process the hurt, so they don't just go burning down buildings after every slight."

"Tommy does seem to like arson," Sam laughs.

"He does," Puffy laughs along with him. "So… is that all your problems? You at ease now?"

That's not even the start of his problems and accepting that he has to let Technoblade visit Dream, thus letting Tommy visit Dream, doesn't mean he has less worries. But… he's thinking a little straighter. His thoughts are a little more at ease. He doesn't fear he's going to just explode from his overwhelming emotions.

"I doubt I'll ever fully be at ease looking after Tommy, but at least that's one problem sorted," he hesitates. "There is _one_ more thing I do have to talk about though…"

Puffy hums. Gestures for him to continue.

Sam audibly swallows.

"So, you know how you suggested I adopt Tommy and Tubbo separately-"

"Sam. You are _not_ going against that suggestion. The two of them need to find some stability _away_ from each other. Not to mention you said Tommy said he'd _think_ about you adopting him, he hasn't agreed to it of his own violation yet and if you offer to adopt Tubbo _now_ , he'll feel _pressured_ to answer. He'd most likely agree because it's _Tubbo_ and that's not good for the mentality of a child suffering from abuse and manipulation," Puffy's voice doesn't leave him room to argue.

He tries anyway.

"Right. Right. Just… are you sure _Tubbo_ won't feel bad being offered an adoption _after_ Tommy. Also, wouldn't Tubbo be equally as likely to feel pressured if Tommy's been adopted?"

"Sam," Puffy groans. "No trying to adopt Tubbo right now. Tubbo, unlike Tommy, is in a stable situation for the moment. He has plenty of people to keep an eye on him. And if you explain it to Tubbo in the _right_ way, he won't feel like he has to accept the adoption. We've _discussed_ this."

"Right. Sure. Of course, just checking," Sam can't stop the way he fidgets, like he's a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Puffy takes one look at him and sighs.

"What did you do? I swear if you've offered to adopt them both already, I'm taking one of your lives."

"I… I may have brought up my intention to adopt Tubbo as well as Tommy to Philza and Technoblade," Sam runs a hand through his hair. "It probably won't get back to Tommy and Tubbo, but what if it does? Wouldn't it be better if _I'm_ the one to tell them of those intentions? But like what if as you said they feel pressured to say yes, because they can be together that way? Oh, I've messed this up, haven't I? I mean it felt great to say, but it wasn't really appropriate given the circumstances."

Puffy rubs a hand against her brow.

"This… this isn't unmanageable. Just… give me some time to figure things out. Don't bring it up to Tommy and Tubbo yet. Just… focus on the prison visit. _That's_ already gonna be a whole lot of fun. I hope you’re prepared for a fight to break out if you're right about Techno."

"Honestly, I'm expecting Techno to back out before he even gets to Dream," Sam admits. "To get through the prison you have to give up all your armour and weapons and there's a few checkpoints that involve the visitor purposefully weakening themselves. Would Techno even trust me enough to go through all of that?"

"I wouldn't doubt the lengths Techno would go through for something he thinks is important," Puffy warns. "If meeting Dream, if _Tommy_ , is important to him he'll go through hell to see it through."

"If he wants to have anything to do with Tommy again, he better be willing to go through hell," Sam grumbles. 

Puffy laughs. "Alright, Papa bear. Go back to being your overprotective self."

"It's not overprotection if there are literally people trying to kill Tommy," Sam rolls his eyes. After finishing his tea (lukewarm now), he puts his mask back on and stands up. "Thanks for the tea and the advice."

"You're welcome," Puffy smiles. "If you need help hiding a body you know where to find me."

"Like there'd be a body to hide," Sam disregards as he heads to the door. "Tommy and I are sleeping over Tubbo's if you want to hang out. Those kids love you."

"Not as much as you 'Sam Nook'," Puffy teases, but Sam doesn't find any embarrassment in the fact his inventory always has a racoon mask and a recording of Animal Crossing noises at the ready. What was there to be embarrassed about when it comes to helping his ~~son~~ best friend out?

"See ya," Sam says.

"I'll join you later if I get the chance!" Puffy calls as he pulls the door shut behind him.

The journey back to Tubbo's house is the same as the one to Puffy's. A short walk in the snow. Somehow though the walk seems quicker. Like the path has shrunk just so he can return to his boys quicker.

"Sam! You took forever!" Tommy greets as he opens the door.

"Tommy almost burnt a chair!" Tubbo yells.

"Tubbo! You traitor!" Tommy punches Tubbo's arm and the two are wrestling once again.

Sam's chest is full and warm, and he wants to feel this feeling for the rest of his life. A feeling that makes him want to yell 'I'm home,' as he walks into the house. He hopes one day he gets to yell that, as the two boys in front of him argue and have fun. He hopes he hasn't messed up over the last few days and made it impossible. He hopes this prison trip won't irreparably destroy their future. He hopes, but more importantly he plans. He won't allow inaction to make him regret. Not again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The streams yesterday? Never happened! We're in the best timeline where Sam is going to adopt Tommy and Tubbo, alright?!?! (Come on guys! I join the fandom and all this stuff happens, why the streams got to do me like this?!?! T^T)
> 
> This chapter was so hard to write!!!! I kept messing facts up and having to re-write parts for example! I thought sulphur was black, but it's yellow (the mistake comes from a couple years ago when I went to Japan and you can buy some sulphur cooked eggs and they're black, but from my research it turns out they're cooked in sulphur AND iron, so the colour comes mostly from the iron!). So I spent so much time just fixing everything and then having to smooth the edits up! Hopefully the story reads fluidly, but if there's any jarring cuts it's because of the LONG and WEIRD editing this chapter went through (remember to check facts BEFORE writing, not while editing XD)! 
> 
> Anyways!!!! Thank you for all the lovely comments!!! You guys make my day with all the lovely things you say!!! I'll hopefully get the next chapter out in a few days! Exciting times, it'll be Techno visiting Dream!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought I'd be writing a Minecraft RP fanfic, but wow! After weeks of seeing Sam Nook trending I gave in to my curiosity and the RP is super interesting!!! And the fandom is so CREATIVE (all the art, animations and fics are so BEAUTIFUL) and I just caved and decided to write something! Some characters may be OOC, BUT I haven't watched everything yet XD Only know the outlines for events I haven't watched yet for example!!! 
> 
> Don't know when I'm gonna update! We're going full impulsive writing with this story (haven't not had a schedule or a plan for a fic in a while XD), so this could update tomorrow or next week or 50 years from now ;P Hope you've enjoyed the first chapter though! I'm trying to not paint any of the characters as good or bad, they all have strong opinions and they've all made mistakes. They just need time to heal and sort their shit out! Anyways! Until next time!!!


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